
UCCESS THROUGH 
THOUGHT: HABIT 




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SUCCESS THROUGH 
THOUGHT: HABIT 

BENJAMIN JOHNSON 



Copyrighted 1917 
Price, #1.25 



Published by 
JAMIESON PUBLISHING CO. 
Chicago 









AUG -8 1917 

©GI.A473165 



CONTENTS 



I.— Our Thought— Habits 7 

II. — Building Thought Habit by Harmony 14 

III.— Building Thought Habits Constructively 22 

IV. — Mental Exercises ...27 

V. — Teaching the Nervous System to Obey 35 

VI.^The Value of Positive Thought 41 

VII.— Other People 48 

VIII. — 'Growing Nerves the Right Way 55 

IX. — Setting Aside Limitations 61 

X. — Suggestions As to iCompanions and Affirmation.. 67 

XI.— When Things Go Wrong 73 

XII.— Letting Go 79 

XIII. — Practical Concentration 84 

XIV.— Making Useful Habits Automatic 89 

XV.— Interesting Task That Is Never Completed 93 

X VI.— Cultivating the Will to Do 99 

XVIL— Thinking for Abundance 108 

XVIIL— Success 115 



No greater conqueror or mightier hero 
can be imagined, than he who can con- 
trol his own mind at all times, and who 
can so master his Thoughts as to say to 
Fear and Doubt — "Begone, never to re- 
turn," or to Harmony and Abundance, 
"Dwell with me forever" — and be 
obeyed. Such a man has attained what 
is worth more than all that earth pos- 
sesses, for he has within him a power 
before which all obstacles must melt, 
just as snow disappears beneath the 
warm rays of the Sun- 



FOREWORD 



This book is dedicated to the many who have expressed 
a desire for an easily understood, yet practical method of 
Constructive-Thought Building — something that may be 
used by followers of any creed, any time, any where. 

Every day examples have been used to explain the 
different principles, while the findings of world-renowned 
scientists have been given that the readers might understand 
fully the importance of establishing the right thought habit, 
and the simplicity of the method by which this may be 
accomplished no matter what may be the environment. 

I have endeavored to credit each author with every idea 
I have borrowed though it may be that in some instances 
I have unconsciously absorbed a thought and have repeated 
it without being conscious of such appropriation. 

In any event my desire has been to respond to the 
demand for aid, and not to exploit the ability of others as 
my own possession. 

Benjamin Johnson. 

May 12th, 1917. 



CHAPTER I. 
OUR THOUGHT-HABITS. 

"The laws of thought are the laws of the universe." 

"Thought removes mountains and models the world like soft 
clay. The beginning of all thought worth the name is love. 

"The hardest task in the world is to think." — Emerson. 

To the earnest thinker nothing is more difficult to understand 
than the absolutely blank expression, or the out-spoken objection with 
which people who have been clamoring for assistance, receive the 
advice to change their habit of thought. 

"Spend time in practicing right thinking! Ridiculous!" They 
want something more tanglible, something more difficult than mere 
thinking, and besides they are quite sure they have been using 
the noblest and most uplifting thoughts for years with no results. 

To argue such people into an acceptance of your views is a waste 
of time, so the only thing to be done is to lay before them the 
scientific reason for each fact and then demonstrate by living ex- 
amples what can actually be done by thinking constructively on every 
matter every day. 

Emerson has told us that thinking is the hardest thing in the 
world. Constructive thinking in addition to being difficult also 
requires constant effort, and that is why so many people try to get 
out of it. 

They want success, happiness, prosperity, yes indeed, but they 
object to the price at which these qualities are sold. 

Then, too, many people do not understand what Constructive 
Thinking means. Thoughts are constantly flitting through the minds 
of every one. Some of them good, many of them bad, all of them 
induced by something one has read, seen, heard or remembered* 

Because a thought suddenly appears is no reason it should remain, 



8 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

and if it is in the least destructive,the Will should be exercised to 
banish it and replace it with a strong Constructive Thought at once. 

Some people confuse reading with thinking, whereas it is only 
learning what other people have thought. 

Listening to the advice of others is much the same process. 

A comparison of the printed or spoken thought with our own is 
really thinking, and when we decide to accomplish something along 
a certain line and for that purpose use a certain mode of thought, 
sticking to it day after day, week after week, month after month 
until our new habit is firmly established, we have not only been 
thinking but we have been practicing Constructive Thinking and we 
have also demonstrated the fact that by conscious effort the will can 
control the mind. , 

It is said that "usefulness is the rent we pay for our room on 
earth" — and that therefore it behooves each one of us to find in 
just what capacity we may lead the most useful and beneficial lives. 

Nearly every one aims at Success in his chosen field, but few 
accomplish it. The reasons for the many failures have been attributed 
to environment, luck, lack of influence and fate. The truth is found 
in the thought habit of each individual. 

Look your associates over and you will find that invariably they 
have paid for whatever they have attained. 

The musician has spent long, hard hours in practice, each day for 
many years until finally his very soul is filled with harmony and he 
gives to the world the poetry of his music. 

The artist has studied patiently to understand not only the tech- 
nique but the secret of blending his colors, and after patient years of 
work the laurel wreath crowns his efforts. 

The architect has studied form as well as materials, has traveled 
and observed, and then put his knowledge into actual service by 
producing in stone and mortar what he has created in this thought 
world. 

Nothing has been an accident, but all successful careers have been 
earned by the persistent application of the individual until finally 
every obstacle has yielded, and victory has been won. 

Thus we see as a consequence of the different application of 
thought, one man becomes a success while the other remains a failure 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 9 

yet both may have had exactly the same qualities with which to begin 
life. 

Scientists have affirmed that every one is nothing more than a 
collection of habits. To change the man one must first of all change 
the habits. This idea does not alone mean to change the manner of 
eating, sleeping, dressing and working, but most important of all and 
first of all, comes the knowledge that before any change of import- 
ance can be made the habit of thought must be re-made or remodeled, 
and then the other matters will follow as a matter of course. 

In wild animals we call these habits instinct. In the human 
being we speak of them as traits and sometimes as talents. 

The "Laws of Nature" are really nothing but habits by which 
the different elementary sorts of matter follow their actions and 
re-actions upon each other. 

In people we see how these habits vary and are modified to suit 
climatic conditions, environment or necessity. 

The Laplander lives on oils and grease, wears garments of fur, 
bathes very infrequently, sleeps and eats much and lives much as 
the animals do, being quite contented when the supply of oil is 
good and only miserable when the food supply is low. His dispo- 
sition is phlegmatic. 

The Southerner dislikes oils, eats highly seasoned foods, prefers 
fruits and vegetables to meats, considers his daily bath a necessity, 
wears the lightest of clothing and is of a very excitable temperament. 

Both are human beings, but both have yielded to the necessities of 
environment in adapting themselves to the customs of the sections 
of the world in which they live, until their habits of thought and 
actions have become fixed, and any great change would mean a decided 
hardship to them. 

In the elementary particles of matter habits can not change because 
the particle is in itself unchangeable. For instance each mineral 
is distinct and will always have the same action and re-action, when 
it is by itself, but, unite a number of minerals in a compound and 
changes will result owing to the structure of the compound. 

Familiar changes in structure that produce little if any alteration 
in the outward appearance, but which are invisible and molecular 
may be seen in any household. For example, the pitcher of cream 



10 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

may become sour, a pail of water may become a pail of ice, plaster 
become set, rubber becomes friable, yet the outward appearance is 
not changed. 

These changes which involve gradual yielding, but which save 
the material from being disreputed, we say depend upon the plasticity 
of the object. 

Plasticity then means the possession of a structure weak enough 
to yield to an influence but strong enough not to yield all at once. 

Now with individuals we often see the working out of this law 
and knowing that any compound structure can change we realize that 
we should never feel that any other human being is incapable of 
change, for after all the body is nothing but a combination of elements. 

People who are too plastic, yield to every suggestion and are 
always strongly influenced by the last speaker they happened to hear. 

People not sufficiently plastic are unable to adapt themselves to 
changed conditions easily and for that reason suffer much discomfort 
as they go through life. 

People who are not at all plastic are so affected by change that 
often the disruption we have noticed in elementary forms of matter 
occur and death, sickness or insanity results because they could not 
or would not yield to conditions. 

The plasticity of an object depends upon the inward tension as 
combined with outward force. 

An object that yields very quickly to a tremendous inward tension 
and a great outward force is disrupted and separated into its original 
elements — hence the advisability of a gradual yielding. 

In dealing with humanity a knowledge of this law is of the first 
importance for it teaches us that when people yield too readily they 
will yield just as readily to other arguments, when they refuse to 
yield at all, they also refuse to progress and when they yield grad- 
ually, they possess the qualites necessary for a useful and beneficial 
life. 

The inward tension in the case of individuals will be a desire to 
progress and improve, while the outward force will be reading, spoken 
words, environment or associates. 

Many businesses have been disrupted, many households made 
unhappy, by an abrupt announcement of a change without even an 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT II 

attempt to arouse a desire on the part of others for the introduction 
of a different method. The consequence has been that suggestions 
have been received with open indifference or concealed rebellion, 
whereas if a little diplomacy had been used and the inward desire 
aroused the change might have taken place peacefully and with good 
results for all concerned. 

No better proof of the truth that we are ruled by habit can be 
given than by the very unwilling attention paid to any suggestion for 
change by the great majority of people. 

Ask them, "why not?' ' They can not even give an adequate 
answer excepting to mention the fact that they have been accustomed 
to doing things another way. Indeed — 

"Habit to him was all the test of truth, 
It must be so, I've done so since my youth." 

Many content themselves with the comfortable assertion — "well, I 
like the things I am accustomed to use," — or "I have done things 
this way for years and I am just going to let well enough alone/' or 
"I have made my money this way, why change now ?" 

But the real reason, the deep-seated reason that they themselves 
failed to recognize was that their habit of thought had been formed 
and that it meant a lot of good hard work to change it. 

And so people of this type have always objected to every change. 
They hated to give up their stoves for furnaces, their horses for 
automobiles, their kerosene lamps for gas, and then the gas for 
electricity. They fought moving picture shows and public parks, 
while the first plan for a subway nearly drove them frantic. 

But, when we see that even inorganic substances have habits we 
can hardly be surprised that humans cling so rapidly to their methods 
of doing things and object so strenuously to changes. 

A few familiar examples may serve to remind us of the truth that 
everything has its habit. 

Dresses that have been wrinkled once, wrinkle again, in the same 
places. 

Trousers pressed once fall naturally into the same folds. 

Paths that have been walked on are followed more readily by every 
one. 



12 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Automobiles acquire the habits of their drivers so that the 
mechanic can tell something about the manner of the owner by notic- 
ing the condition in which he finds the machine. 

Pianos, violins and other musical instruments have an added 
value when owned and played upon by good musicians, for in time 
every cell assumes a wonderful power of resonance. 

In the physical body we find the same rule working out. 

Getting up in the morning or retiring at night at certain stated 
hours readily becomes a habit. 

Arms and legs that have been broken once, break easily again in 
the same place. 

Ankles that have been sprained once, sprain again very readily. 

Scars become irritated quicker than normal skin. 

Organs that have suffered injury once, are apt to be injured 
again. 

Recurrences of certain diseases are apt to come at the same time 
of the year to people who really look for Tonsilitis, Rheumatism and 
Hay Fever with an almost pleasurable degree of anticipation. 

So we come to realize the truth of the saying — "Bodies are thought 
builded and they may be thought destroyed. What thought does 
unconsciously under law it can do consciously and thus build for good 
when the law is known and followed." 

Naturally, it follows that all habits of the body must be formed in 
the first place by thought substance, and, thus the only way to change 
is to build ever}* thought-habit constructively. 

RESUME. 

Man is nothing more nor less than a collection of habits. 

In wild animals habits are called instincts. 

In human beings we speak of habits as traits or as talents. 

Elementary particles of matter have unchangeable habits because 
the particle is in itself unchangeable. 

When a number of elements are united in a compound, changes 
may result owing to the structure of the compound. 

Changes which involve gradual yielding but which keep the 
structure from being disrupted are due to the plasticity of the object. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 13 

Plasticity means the possession of a structure weak enough to 
yield but strong enough not to yield all at once. 

This plasticity depends upon amount of inward tension and out- 
ward force. 

Objects that yield quickly to a tremendous inward tension and 
a great outward force are disrupted and return to their original ele- 
ments, hence, the necessity for gradual yielding if the structure is to 
be maintained. 

Unprogressive people are devoid of plasticity and dislike change. 

Progressive people are always plastic and adapt themselves to new 
conditions. 

Inorganic substances show force of habit as in dresses that have 
been wrinkled once and wrinkle easily again, paths that are more 
readily followed the second and third time, automobiles that are 
affected by the mannerisms of their drivers. 

In the physical body, habit of rising and retiring becomes easily 
fixed. 

Diseases recur readily. Ankles sprain again easily. Scars become 
irritated quicker than normal skin. 

Bodies are thought-builded and may be thought destroyed. Injur- 
ious habits formed by destructive thought must be changed by con- 
structive thought. 



CHAPTER II. 
BUILDING THE THOUGHT HABIT BY HARMONY. 

"The foundation of content must spring up in the mind, and 
he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek 
happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will 
waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he 
seeks to remove." — Johnson. 

"Try but for one day I beg of you to conduct yourself in an 
harmonious state of mind. Be for one day, instead of the 
fire-worshipper of anger and other passions, the sun- 
worshipper of calm, contented, cheerful self-possession. Then 
compare this day with every other day of your life and you 
will find it the one you will ever remember with joy and 
satisfaction. 

"Make days of this description your habit and you will find 
your heart open to every good motive, your life strengthened 
and your breast armed with a panoply 'gainst every trick of 
fate. Truly you will wonder at your own improvement." — 
Richter. 

To keep the mind from indulging in the habit of injurious thoughts 
is much easier to read about than to accomplish. 

Make the effort for just one day of keeping the mind absolutely 
free from any thought that even hints of destructive energy, restrain 
yourself whenever you feel like speaking hastily and you will find at 
night that thought victorious you will be genuinely tired. 

Priests, poets, philosophers have for ages struggled with this 
problem. Penances have been imposed, life in the cloisters has been 
recommended, rules of all kinds have been formulated, wonderful 
systems involving most trying tests in concentration have been devised 
■ — all in the hope of discovering that mysterious something that would 
make the problem of living a simpler and more enjoyable process. 

Finally, however, no matter what the ideas have been, they have 
all arrived at the same conclusion that the one thing necessary to the 
living of a perfect life is the possession of the quality familiar to 
many but really known to few — called Harmony. A condition of 
mind that can only come from within and be maintained within, 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 15 

despite the adverse circumstaces, environment and almost overwhelm- 
ing odds against it. 

"Secure Harmony First" is the advice, for where Harmony exists, 
there can be no nervous tension, sorrow, bitterness, recrimination, 
resentemnt, unhappiness, envy, nor anger. But instead there will be 
exemplified peace of mind, health of body, a contented spirit, freedom 
from want and abundance for all desires. 

The very word "Harmony" is in itself a marvelous combination of 
sounds. There is something strangely soothing about it, a hidden 
meaning that implies far more than the accepted definition — being in 
accord. 

It seems to hint at latent power and just as any observer notes 
that harmonious sounds will control, influence and uplift an audience 
so a truly harmonious personality influences everyone contracted for 
good and leaves a memory full of inspiration. 

Ruskin has said, "Hundreds can talk to one who can think; 
thousands can think to one who can see", and so with Harmony, 
hundreds can talk of it, thousands can think of it, but only one of the 
thousand will really see and thoroughly experience it. 

Women weep, "How may we better our conditions, how may we 
escape from poverty and from sorrow?" Yet, ever they seek the 
remedy from without, refusing to look within, still scoffing at the 
truth so well described by Sir Edwin Arnold when he wrote — 

"Ye suffer from yourselves. None else compels 
None other hold you that you live and die, 
And whirl upon the wheel and hug and kiss 
Its spokes of agony. 

"Before beginning and without an end, 
As space eternal and as surely sure, 
Is fixed a power divine that moves to good, 
Only its laws endure. 
***** ** * 

"It will not be contemned of any one, 
Who thwarts it loses, and who serves it gains, 
The hidden good it pays with peace and bliss, 
The hidden ills with pains." 

Many others will read the wonderful philosophy contained in the 
lines just quoted, half agreeing, but secretly thinking, "Of course, this 
does not apply to us." 



l6 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT : HABIT 

And, if any of you are as nearly perfect as ordinary human beings 
can be, if your minds are so poised as never to be distressed or 
disturbed, if you are filled with the joy of living and the belief in 
your possibilities, then, indeed, you do not need them for you have 
already discovered that everything comes from within and that as you 
think so shall you be. 

, Each day one meets examples in people distressingly poor, always 
in debt, always longing for happiness and comfort, always complain- 
ing of their misfortunes. They cheat in small ways, blame others 
for everything that goes wrong with themselves, are indolent and 
insincere and still they continue to wonder why they do not succeed 
and they both feel and say that the problem of living is too hard for 
them to solve. 

They want Harmony — Yes, indeed ! But their idea of Harmony is 
something they may purchase, or secure without an effort, or get out 
of a book, or obtain when everything goes their way; not something 
they must develop in their own minds in spite of depressing conditions. 

Occasionally people feel that study of the best literature will give 
them what they need, and they seek wildly for the books they feel 
may help them. 

One young man who had read pages of good advice — but had 
failed to improve, went to one of the greatest teachers in this work 
and said, "I have spent days and weeks denying my possession of all 
sorts of evil tendencies and I have fought against temptation as hard 
as I could, but, anyway I find it harder all the time to be good. ,, 

The teacher smiled and said, "The reason is very evident, you 
really have been thinking so much of what you wanted to avoid that 
you have been concentrating on your bad habits rather than your good 
ones. Now. for a time, just stop weeding your mental garden and 
affirm Harmony as hard as you can." 

"But," objected the young man, "what can I study that will help 
me?" 

And the teacher replied, "Study Harmony. Eat it, think it, drink 
it, sing it, breathe it, whistle it, fill your mind with it the last thing 
at nightl and the first thing in the morning, and, last but not least, 
demonstrate it in every action." 

People watching this young fellow's progress spoke of him as 
remarkable, and his ability as phenomenal and his smile as the most 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT \J 

winning they had ever known, and, when he arrived at his goal and 
became the most successful merchant in the small city, many called 
him lucky, but, his teacher and I knew that he had given many hours 
and days and weeks of hard, unremitting work to the training of the 
Harmony Habit and that he was but reaping his reward. 

Occasionally one finds a hard-headed business man or a bitter 
woman who laughs at the idea of Harmony as being practical, but, 
these people are becoming less evident every day, for the whole world 
has come to know that it is lack of Harmony that makes business 
failures and domestic troubles, fills our penitentiaries, insane asylums 
and poor farms. 

A young woman who says she has been studying Constructive 
Thinking wrote me one day that she could get along beautifully 
as long as she was alone, but that her family annoyed her and made her 
irritable. 

When I answered her that her family could not irritate or annoy her 
unless she allowed them to do so and that nowhere on earth could she 
develop a stronger harmonious consciousness than amid discordant 
conditions she was quite indignant. 

Then, one day she came to see me and as I talked, I picked up a 
ball from the table and something inside rattled as I shook it. 

"What causes that noise?" I asked. 

"Why, the way you shook the ball," she replied. 

"Yes," I said, "but if the ball had been solid instead of cheaply 
constructed nothing inside could have rattled, so you see I was only 
a medium for finding out just what material that ball was made of, 
whether good or poor. Thus the daily incidents prove to you whether 
your philosophy is good or merely a poor imitation of the good, for, 
if you have formed the right habit of thought, if you are really har- 
monious, nothing can rattle inside, and no shaking can disturb you." 

And from that day the young woman understood why another 
person could not disturb her unless she herself was weak. 

Another woman, very prominent in the business world, came to 
me with complaints about labor trouble. It seemed that every 
one she employed, was either insubordinate, incompetent or ungrate- 
ful, and life was to her a daily grind, leaving her nervous and 
exhausted at night and unable to cope with the problem. 



l8 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

She was an exceptionally bright woman of a very nervous tempera- 
ment, analytical mind, sound judgment and fine appearance, and had 
been very successful until this past year. She was honest, moral and 
much respected, but her face was traced by tiny worry lines, the cor- 
ners of her mouth turned down and she twisted about as she talked. 

Finally, when she had finished telling her troubles, I said, "When 
did you commence worrying about your son and his marriage to the 
girl you disliked so much?" 

"Two years ago," she replied. 

"Have you ever forgiven him?" I asked. 

"No," she blazed forth, "and I never will, though I am pleasant to 
him." 

"And, in your heart, you blame the young woman, don't you?" 
I continued. 

"Why certainly I do," she admitted. 

"Right after this you lost your best assistant, did you not," I asked. 
"Yes," she said, "and that same year two of my oldest girls left 
and this last year four have gone so now I have nothing but poorly 
trained assistants none worth one-half what I am palying them." 

"Tell me," she begged, "what shall I do?" 

"Well, first of all," I said, "before you commence regulating any 
one else, get after yourself cast out these bitter thoughts, forgive your 
son and his wife, insist on seeing the good in both and get yourself in 
a harmonious frame of mind. When you go to bed at night see your 
business as prosperous, know that you are going ahead. Instead of 
scolding your assistants and finding fault with them all day, have a 
meeting at your house some evening, talk to them of everything but 
business and then tell them that you are organizing some Constructive 
Thought meetings in which you are all going to find the good in each 
other and build stronger characters." 

Mrs. H. looked disappointed. She thought my advice far fetched 
and my reasoning wrong, but, as she talked her eyes fell on a guitar, 
and she picked it up striking a few chords carelessly. 

The instrument wasn't in tune and she worked at it for a time 
until all but one string was sounding to suit her. Just before she 
made a last attempt on it, I stopped her, and said, "Can't you see the 
connection between that guitar and your mind? Just that little dis- 
cordant sound from the one string has made the entire effect bad, just 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 19 

as your discordant thought has reflected in your business, your health, 
your happiness and your popularity." 

And Mrs. H., after a moment's thought said hesitatingly, "I half 
believe you are right, anyway I will try." 

And she did try to such an extent that today she is employing 
twice as many people and the harmonious atmosphere of that office is 
so marked that even the strangers who enter realize there is some 
wonderful force there and want to know what it is, why one feels so 
peaceful and rested and free from troubles when waiting there. 

Now, while many people desire Harmony, many others who are 
attempting to practice it find that every little while they meet with a 
set-back, so, for the benefit of those who may need a little assistance 
the partial list of Constructive as well as some of the Destructive 
Qualities has been given. 

The teacher who uses this list for every pupil states that the only 
reason the Destructive Qualities are listed is to enable the pupil to 
check up on the day's work. For instance, supposing something has 
gone wrong, instead of being discouraged the pupil will run his finger 
down the line of Destructive Qualities saying to himself, "Now, one 
of these I must have practiced today. Sure enough, I criticized and 
condemned when I should have been charitable in word and deed." 

Or, perhaps something is seemingly wrong and the day has been 
difficult, the pupil will analyze his condition this way, "Yes, I did 
indulge in fear when I should have practiced courage and faith." 

Then, after making this discovery, instead of wasting time in 
brooding over the mistake, the memory of the error is swept away 
by the affirmation of Harmony, and in this way the next day's work 
will be easier. 



RESUME. 

An absolutely Harmonious Consciousness produces perfect health, 
happiness and abundance. 

Harmony is always manifested from within, not from without. 

The truly Harmonious Personality cannot be disturbed by people, 
conditions, nor environment. 

The only thing necessary for the development of an Harmonious 



20 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Personality, is constant practice in the Constructive Thoughts that are 
necessary for the development of this Consciousness. 

Every night one should relax completely and affirm "I am Har- 
mony, at the same time breathing rhythmically. This same process 
should be practiced in the morning and at intervals during the day. 

Many times people honestly believe they are practicing Harmony 
because they make these affirmations, yet they at the same time in- 
dulge in Destructive Thoughts without realizing it. For this reason, 
this partial lislt of Constructive and Destructive Thoughts have been 
selected, with the suggestion that every one contemplating the work 
of self-improvement, conduct a self analysis for one week, by keeping 
a record of their Thought Habits. The result will invariably be bene- 
ficial, often times instructive and always will prove 'the truth that Har- 
mony comes from within and not from without, no matter what causes 
may seemingly contribute to the effect. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT : HABIT 



21 



LIST TO BE USED FOR SELF ANALYSIS EACH NIGHT. 



■what 
deed and 



CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS. 

Appreciation — of your many- 
blessings. 

Charity — in Thought and deed. 

Consideration — for others. 

Courage — in every emergency. 

Cheerfulness — under all condi- 
tions. 

Confidence — in your own ability. 

Desire — to succeed. 

Enthusiasm — in your undertak- 
ing. 

Truth — in every detail. 

Fairness — in your dealings. 

Faith — in the ultimate outcome. 

Generosity — of time as well as 
money. 

Good -Humor — no matter 
goes wrong. 

Kindliness — in word, 
thought. 

Love — of all man-kind. 

Sincerity — toward all. 

Truth — in every detail. 

DESTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS. 
Anger — at any one for any reason. 

Abuse — of those who have of- 
fended you. 

Blame — of some one or some 
thing for your failure. 

Criticism — of your associates. 

Condemnation — of any offender. 

Deceit— -toward any one. 

Envy — of the more fortunate. 

Fear — of any thing, person or 
condition. 

Fault — finding or Complaining. 

Gossip — at any time. 

Hatred — of any one. 

Indolence — and tendency to 
shirk. 

Intolerance — of other people's 
views. 

Jealousy — for any reason. 

Self-pity — because of your con- 
dition. 

Selfishness — in not sharing with 
others. 

Slander — of those you dislike. 

Untruthfulness — for any reason. 



Sun. 



Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. 



Sat. 



This list may be changed according to one's needs. It is intended 
for personal use only and not to enable you to find out what is wrong 
with some body else. In fact the individual who works honestly and 
constructively with this process of self-analysis, will soon find there 
is not time left in which to worry about the shortcomings of others, 
for all effort will be expended on your own Constructive-Thought 
Building. 



CHAPTER III. 
BUILDING THOUGHT-HABITS CONSTRUCTIVELY. 

The easiest and quickest way to improve is to keep your 
thought world so filled with visions of Love and Harmony that 
destructive thoughts are crowded out. 

"Thought is another name for Fate, 
Choose then thy destiny and wait, 
For love brings love and hate brings hate." 

— Wilcox. 

In building thought habits I shall continue to emphasize the value 
of Harmony for the possession of this quality proves that the Owner 
is possessed of will, determination, courage and hence must have force 
of character. 

As one sees the thousands of discontented, unhappy faces every- 
where and realizes that the sour expressions they wear inevitably point 
to a wrong habit of thought, and then contrasts these faces with the 
radiance that emanates from those who are really harmonious, the 
desire to awaken more and more people to these truths grows daily 
more intense. 

Neithes gold nor precious stones nor priceless oils can compare 
in value with the acquisition of the right thought habit for it not only 
makes the gray days, glad days, but it changes ones entire viewpoint of 
life and develops the individual into a veritable tower of strength. 

We all realize the value of the correct training of the child and 
we don't hesitate to say to him — "Be careful of the crossings, come 
home promptly at four o'clock and then practice for two hours before 
dinner." 

If the little one is forgetful and doesn't obey these instructions 
we make still another endeavor to impress the necessity for obedience 
on his mind. If he is still obdurate we resort to some form of disci- 
plin until finally we find that our efforts have met with success. 

Building the right thought habits is very much the same thing, 
only we often confuse the old habit of thought with the one we desire 
to acquire, and forget that will must be employed not only once or 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 2$ 

twice a day but a dozen times and for many, many days in order to 
really produce an effect worth while. 

A very good plan is to treat your brain as you would your child. 

Say to it — "Now today you are going to be perfectly poised. 
Nothing shall disturb you, and one hour in the afternoon will be 
devoted to the consideration of Harmony and an analysis of any 
thought habit that may interfere with it." 

Supposing the day does go better than usual but that some few 
things have disturbed your servant, the brain. Don't reprimand, just 
say — "for the first effort you have done very well. Tomorrow you will 
do better." And then before you go to sleep fill the brain full of every 
harmony thought you can possibly discover. 

"But all this will interfere with business" some one exclaims. Not 
at all. For years you have been losing your temper and have fussed 
about things and still continued your business. This merely means 
that you will conduct your affairs in a much smoother and more 
effective manner, by using your will to control your brain instead of 
letting vagrant thoughts and various emotions control you. It is 
not at all difficult but it does take time and it teaches you not to blame 
any one else for your own lack of tranquility. 

Who has not heard some friend or perhaps a member of the fam- 
ily declare, "I was getting along splendidly when that woman came 
along and brought out the very worst there was in me," — or per- 
chance you may be told, "I know I have no business to drink, but 
every time I meet that man, I get into trouble," — or "Really mother, 
I didn't mean to stay out late, but Anna coaxed me so hard I could 
not get out of it," — or you may hear how some man was a fine fel- 
low till "his wife made him go wrong," or the wife was a woman 
of fine principles "till her husband's conduct discouraged her and 
she went wrong" — or how some young man was "such a fine fel- 
low until his bad associates corrupted him." 

And who of us at least in some phase of our existence has not 
condoned the offence, and blamed the other people, never realizing 
that the condoning of any offence in this manner is merely de- 
veloping a habit of shifting the blame to some one's else' shoulders 
and thus making a weak character still weaker, instead of devel- 
oping it in spite of temptations. 



24 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

History is too full of the stories of men and women who have 
persevered and attained in spite of discouragement, temptations and 
evil surroundings to make any really thinking person feel that any 
individual should now hew out his or her own future no matter 
what the difficulties may be. 

Marcus Aurelius was never happier than the day he made the 
discover}- that nothing could trouble or grieve him unless he al- 
lowed it to do so and when he finally declared. "Today I have 
put all trouble out of my life, for I have found it was not from 
within but from without, and from within my own mind." He gave 
us a truth that has lasted for nearly two thousand years as a 
guide to some of the greatest minds this world has ever known. 

Our habits of thought do not alone influence our own lives 
but they produce a marked effect on the atmosphere of our homes, 
our places of business and also upon our associates. 

If you are in doubt, discouraged or unhappy you often depress 
others. 

If you are suspicious you may create dishonesty in others by 
holding the thought about them so persistently that you plant that 
idea in their minds. 

On the other hand if your thought habits are happy, kindly and 
charitable, you not only scatter sunshine wherever you go but ac- 
tually play an important part in making the world a better place. 

The self-confident man or woman is the one the world trusts. 

Can you imagine a hesitating Columbus, blaming the Spanish 
because they wouldn't believe in him — sitting down on the seashore 
and crying because the distance to the unknown land could not be 
gauged by the eye, or described by any human being ? 

Would a weak-kneed, apologetic Bismarck leave the name in 
history that Iron Chancellor has handed down? 

Abraham Lincoln has been described as having 'the biggest heart 
in the world, but that at that it was too small to ever hold the mem- 
ory of a wrong.' Yet would any one call him 'half-hearted?' 

Would you describe General Grant as timid, Theodore Roose- 
velt as cowardly, or Lord Xelson as lacking in initiative? 

Why the very memory of these names breathes courage, self-con- 
fidence, absolute and unquenchable braver}-, to which pretenses or 
any form of making excuses was foreign, for they all learned in 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 2$ 

that hard but excellent school known as experience — that only one 
habit counts with the world at large and that is the habit of making 
good. 

It is said that George Washington detested the habit of ex- 
cuse-making for he declared it made poor soldiers. One day a 
young officer approached him with his watch in his hand and said, 
"Pardon my lateness, sir, but my watch was slow." 

Washington glanced at him keenly and then said decisively, "Very 
well, then change your watch." 

The wise Confucius knew these truths, for thousands of years 
ago he declared, "The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental 
base of all progress and of all moral development." 

So we come to know that joy or sorrow, hope or despair, hatred 
or love, understanding or lack of it are purely mental conditions, 
and that each person who chooses may rule his own mind and 
make his own future. 

All adjustment must take place in the mind of the individual. 
All harmony must go from within — out, all love must be expressed 
in the same manner if one expects the world to return love. 

Happiness, health and prosperity are ours by right. All we real- 
ly need is to stop whining, complaining and blaming others and in- 
stead look within. Get the inner-self harmoniously adjusted and 
from that minute progress will be made. 

Change the thought habit and behold the outer world is changed. 

Look for the good in your companions, your business associ- 
ates, your employer or your employees, as the case may be and you 
will find good every time. 

Guard the expression of your face, for it merely reflects your 
state within. 

An unpleasing, sour, unhappy face is not an accident, it is mere- 
ly a reflection of unpleasant, sour, unhappy thoughts. 

The woman who is constantly telling of how some one hurt her 
feelings, brought out the worst there was in her, mistreated or failed 
to appreciate her, is merely making an open confession of some- 
thing radically wrong with her own nature. 

The right thought must produce the right action. 
Plant corn and corn will grow. v 



26 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT : HABIT 

Plant thistles and not only will thistles grow — but the corn 
will be choked out. 

Thoughts constantly repeated, produce habits and habits make 
life. 

The realization that life in its totality is but the product of the 
mind, and that the quality of the mind depends upon the manner 
of thinking and that the manner of thought may be made by habit 
either constructive or destructive gives to each one the solution of 
his individual problem. 

RESUME. 

To build the right thought-habits, it is necessary to employ the 
will, working resolutely and decidedly until the desired amount of 
success has been secured. 

To mourn over the day's errors, or indulge in self -censure is 
destructive, therefore, after checking up on errors determine to 
make the next day better and fill the brain with thoughts of har- 
mony. 

To condone an offence committed by one person by condemn- 
ing or criticizing someone else, is a most destructive habit and does 
not develop the one we are excusing. 

No evil can attack us excepting by the foothold it gains within 
our minds. 

Habits of thought also produce an atmosphere that has a ten- 
dency to either depress or encourage those who enter our homes 
or places of business. 

Self-confidence invites the trust of others. 

Suspicious thoughts of others help in creating dishonesty. 

Kindly, cheerful thought-habits play an important part in mak- 
ing the world better. 

All adjustment of the conditions in the outer world must first 
take place in the mind of the individual. 

The right thought inevitably produces the right action. 



CHAPTER IV. 
MENTAL EXERCISES. 

"He is a man who snatches the blossom of success from the 
bramble of despair." — Emerson. 

"Every time we conquer ourselves, the molecules among the 
nerve cells and fibres are registering for us, just as every time 
we succumb to a temptation or indulge in destructive thought 
they register against us." 

The greatest benefit to be derived from any system of philosophy 
or method of thinking is that which makes the reader stop, think, 
wonder, re-read and then admit, though perhaps a bit reluctantly, 
"Why, of course, these statements are absolutely true, if I am right 
within, the whole world will be right, and I alone am responsible 
for my own mental condition." 

Its a bit difficult, of course, to get the weak characters to admit 
these truths, as they have been enjoying themselves for years in mak- 
ing excuses for themselves by blaming people, things, environment 
and conditions for everything in their lives that went w T rong. 

Take away these props and there is only the ghastly fact that 
for years they have been slackers, staring them in the face. 

"What on earth will all the 'fuss-budgets' do," asks someone, 
"when they have been converted to the idea that to complain about 
the weather, the transportation, the meals, the beds, the servants, 
the family and their friends, is really hurting them and not making 
conditions any better?" 

The solution is so simple it seems a pity not to let the questioners 
answer it for themselves. 

Why, the dear souls will just take all the steam that has been 
wasted through the various openings, confine it properly and use 
it to generate enough energy to build a splendid, well-poised mind, 
a healthful body and a radiant personality. 

They will learn that their brain is their servant to be controlled 
by the will and that as they grow stronger and better the things 
that formerly annoyed them will be as the fly bite on the hide of 
the rhinoceros, — too trifling to be felt. 



28 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Best of all, the students will delve down and get the scientific 
reasons for the use of the right kind of thoughts and the building 
of the right kind of habits, so when people sneer, "Of course, the 
theory is all right but then after all it is all theory," they can prompt- 
ly and convincingly give the physiological reasons for every state- 
ment they may make in the effect that thought has on the nervous 
system and the nervous system in turn on the body. 

Perhaps the strongest of all, is the one finally borne home to the 
thinkers that although they may feel that they influence others great- 
ly and to a certain extent control them, in reality, the only thing 
any individual can actually control is his own mind and he does not 
control that until he has learned just what mental discipline is, and 
what the will can accomplish. 

In fact, the average human being is controlled by the mind in- 
stead of so arranging that the mind will be under his personal su- 
pervision, and this condition of affairs will continue until people 
stop for a time, consider carefully and then proceed to get acquaint- 
ed with themselves and explore the wonders of their own posses- 
sions — the brain. 

We have learned that substance itself cannot change but that 
the form of substance is constantly changing, the difference be- 
tween the various forms of substance being in reality nothing but 
a difference in the rate of their vibration. 

This difference can hardly be better illustrated than by the use 
of those very familiar substances — ice, water, steam. 

And, we may compare ice to the frigid, unbending, unloving 
people we sometimes meet. Water is like the great masses who 
move around at about the same rate and can see no reason for adopt- 
ing any other method, while steam is capable of exerting a great 
force and propelling an object at a most unusual speed. 

We recognize the individual whose vibrations are of the highest 
order by the wide-awake, live, radiant impression she conveys. Those 
who are progressing at the usual rate, we speak of as "people" for 
they have not produced any special impression, while as for those 
who vibrate at the very lowest rate, I am sorry to say they are 
often classed by their associates as "dead ones." 

In order that we may understand the principles of this vibratory 
influence, we must realize that all bodies are made of combination 






SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HA^IT 20, 

of the various elements and all elements are composed of mole- 
cules. 

A molecule has been denned as the smallest quantity of an ele- 
ment or compound that can exist separately. 

Molecules are in turn composed of atoms and atoms are the 
smallest individual particles of matter. 

Electrons of which atoms are composed are defined as atom cor- 
puscles. 

Yet small as the electrons are, so small we can hardly conceive 
of them at all, each one is controlled by its own intelligence. When 
two or more electrons are joined, these intelligences are fused into 
a third intelligence called sometimes a Master Mind and as these 
combinations continue to form, this constantly strengthening Master 
Mind exerts an influence or power that extends from the atoms to 
molecules to the elements, from the elements to the body, and from 
the body to other bodies, thus producing what is known as a strong 
character, a vivid personality or in other words, a leader. 

And this same strong personality that has produced such a won- 
derful effect on the community or the world, depending on how 
the influence has been exerted, has always been fashioned out of 
the very same kind of electrons, atoms and molecules that you and 
I possess, but that we have before this time failed to develop. 

Obviously then the sensible thing for each one of us is to find 
what sort of exercise is needed to develop the individual to the 
greatest extent. 

And investigation shows us that it is nothing more or less than 
the habit of Constructive Thought. 

The use, belief and practice of "I can" and "I will" and "I 
am" not only occasionally but every minute, every hour, every 
day is all that is necessary to stimulate the intelligence of the elec- 
trons into forming stronger and better Master Minds that will in 
turn produce the changes desired. 

And, those of us who have been senseless enough to indulge 
in a mild form of envy, because some one else has had greater ad- 
vantages than we, or because they are apparently more successful 
or more popular will straightway stop this waste of our ener- 
gies and commence to say to ourselves, as Helen Wilmans said — 

"He who dares assert the I, may calmly wait 

While hurrying Fate, meets his demand with full supply." 



30 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 

We have also been told that the only way the habits of any 
elements can be changed in form or appearance is through the pos- 
session of the property of plasticity by which they will yield to 
outward force and inward tension in such a manner that the ma- 
terial will not be disrupted or separated back into its original con- 
stituents. 

Now we must bear in mind that the inward tension neces- 
sary to produce any lasting change on any individual, must be brought 
about by the habit of positive thought, while the outward force 
must be brought about by inspiring talks, instruction, the reading of 
good books and the companionship of people who are making the same 
endeavor. 

In asserting the I, it is also necessary to keep in mind that pur- 
pose is not to glorify the ego, but merely to show an appreciation 
of the divinity within, by refusing to place any limitations on the 
growth of the individual; hence the necessity of constant repeti- 
tion until the "I am" and "I can" is manifested in every detail 
of life. 

Another great reason for establishment of this habit of speech 
and thought is that by the recognition of the divinity within, there is, 
lost that sense of separateness and one can work with a whole heart 
toward a speedier consummation of an idea. 

When there is a real understanding of the oneness with Univer- 
sal Life, the expressions "I can't afford," "I am always in hard 
luck," or "I never succeed," will be avoided as one would avoid 
the plague. 

The recital of ailments or unfortunate experiences, or slander- 
ous stories will be considered as the waste of so much valuable 
time, and instead all conversations will be constructive, all work 
will be done willingly and all results will come in direct proportion 
to the constructive attitude of the worker. 

It is not, however, enough to think constructively. One's face 
should also show the effect of thought in an expression of cheer- 
fulness and good will. 

Some time ago I chanced to meet a very talented but discour- 
aged young woman. She had always enjoyed a good earning capacity 
but as fast as she earned the demands of the family had eaten up 
her income. Finally she was left with an invalid mother, a decided 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 3 1 

hypochondriac, who was selfish to the core, and who demanded of 
her daughter every minute of spare time. 

The girl was tired out; she had no rest, and never got an 
opportunity at recreation. 

Her face showed her state of mind and commenced to antag- 
onize people. 

We got into conversation one day and I persuaded her to read 
Constructive Thought. She rather objected to it at first as she 
declared she was a Baptist and felt it might interfere with her re- 
ligion. But when she was told that nothing in those pages could 
interfere with any real religion she became interested and commenced 
to take a few minutes several times a day for deep breathing and 
the affirmations, "I am Harmony," "I am Success/' "I am Health." 

A few weeks later, she reported to me that her mother had be- 
come less exacting and was trying to practice Harmony. 

Then I suggested that she let her face show the change that had 
been brought within and secured her promise to practice smiling 
before the mirror for five minutes morning and night and to smile 
every time she thought of it during the day. 

The letter she wrote regarding her experience I have kept as 
an inspiration to others. She wrote : — 

"The first morning I tried smiling I felt and looked just 
like 'Sis Hopkins' but I kept grimly at my grinning because I 
had promised to do so. 

"The inconsistency of my inward disgust and my outward 
smile made me laugh as I left my bedroom and some of the 
laugh was still on my face when I sat down to breakfast. 
Everyone looked surprised and Mother said — "What is so funny?" 

"I told her and she burst out laughing and so did cousins 
who were visiting us. 

"As I left the house the postman was coming up the steps 
and as I gave him a smiling 'Good Morning' he smiled back and 
so I kept on until I got to the office where I found everyone 
seemed unusually glad to see me. 

"Of course, I smiled all day and that night the practice was 
not so hard, though Mother insisted on watching me and laugh- 
ing until her sides ached. Of course, that made me laugh for 
Mother has gone for weeks without a smile on her face. 



32 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

"Each morning brought funny experiences but the most in- 
teresting one of all came the very last day of my smiling work, 
when I was called into the office of the President of our Com- 
pany. He dictated steadily for two hours, found fault with 
everything I did, and I just kept on working and smiled every 
time I could think of it. 

"That afternoon he sent for me again, went over my letters 
and burst into the most awful tirade. Again I listened and 
smiled outside and said, 'Very well, sir,' though inside I must 
confess T was beginning to feel just a little fussed. 

"As I left the room, he called me back, shook hands with 
me, smiled and said, 'I have been watching you for weeks and 
had made up my mind you were not enough of a diplomat to 
act for me. Now that I have tried you and see that you refuse 
to lose your temper, even when you are unjustly reprimanded, 
I know you will do and I want you to act as my Private Secre- 
tary from this very day. 

"Can you imagine my gratitude and happiness? Think of it! 
I am earning fifty dollars a month more than I did a year ago, 
I am happier, healthier and daily growing more harmonious and 
Mother is improving too, and yet all of it came because of chang- 
ing my habit of thought. Use my story if you so desire, 
for I know there are many girls, just like me, who are look- 
ing for the 'something wonderful' that will change things — 
not realizing that that something must be from within, and 
must be worked for constantly." 

The experience given by this young woman is not unusual, and 
every one who is willing to try, despite discouragements is bound 
to register some very pleasing proof of what may be accomplished 
in this manner. 

The truth is — we all regard thinking as a sort of ordinary oc- 
cupation not really worthy of special attention, and we carelessly 
allow anyone we meet to fill our brains with all sorts of destructive 
thoughts, not realizing the harm they produce on our business, our 
health and our dispositions. 

Thought is really a mental state. 

Our mental states determine our views of life. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 33 

Our views of life determine what we shall be. 

Our past thoughts have made us what we are today, successes 
or failures, happy or unhappy, harmonious or inharmonious, blessed 
with plenty or afflicted with lack. 

Our present thoughts will determine our tomorrows. Can we 
then spend too much time in weeding out every objectionable and 
destructive thought, and planting in its place a thought that will 
produce good results ? 

One writer has described the effect of thought in these words — 

"We have been our own mental parents. 
We shall be our own mental grandchildren." 

Let us then send out positive thoughts, thoughts that will neu- 
tralize evil and that will bring to us positive results. 



RESUME. 

The matter of careless thinking may be corrected by the use of 
the will. 

The brain is in reality the servant of the will. 

No human being can really control anything but his own brain 
and but few people are truly capable of performing that action cor- 
rectly. 

Substance cannot change but the form of substance is constantly 
changing. 

The difference between different forms of substance is merely 
the difference in their rate of vibration, for example, ice, water and 
steam, all different manifestations of the same substance. 

All bodies are made of a combination of the various elements. 
All elements are composed of molecules. A molecule is the small- 
est quantity of an element that can exist independently. 

Molecules are composed of atoms and atoms are the smallest 
indivisible portions of matter. 

Atoms are in turn composed of electrons which are sometimes 
known as atom corpuscles. 

Yet inconceivably small as electrons are, each one is controlled 
by its own intelligence. When two or more electrons are joined, 
they are fused into a third intelligence called the Master Mind and 



34 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

as these electrons continue to grow and form new combinations, 
the continually strengthening Master Mind exerts an influence that 
extends from atoms to molecules, from molecules to elements, from 
elements to compound or bodies and from bodies to other bodies, 
thus resulting in the formation of a strong personality. 

The development of the individual, therefore, depends upon the 
development of the electrons, atoms and molecules, as evidenced 
in the affirmations "I am," and "I can" and "I will." 

Our past thought-habits have made us what we are. Our pre- 
sent thought-habits are shaping our futures. 



CHAPTER V. 

TEACHING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM TO OBEY 

"Our nervous system grows to the mode in which it has 
been exercised."— James. 

"Ye are not bound! the Soul of Things is sweet, 
The heart of being is celestial rest. 
Stronger than Woe is Will, that which was good, 
Passeth to Better— Best." 

— Arnold. 

The positive qualities of the mind have often been likened to 
a magnet because of the result produced by this method of thinking. 

Now, of course, the home of the thought is the brain. 

Most of us have a hazy idea about the brain and it's action. 
We know that there are twelve pairs of cranial nerves leading from 
the brain conveying messages to every part of our body. 

Scientists have proved conclusively that fear, anger, jealousy, 
envy and worry thoughts generate poisons that are most destruc- 
tive in their influence on health and on business. 

But they have not been sufficiently strong on the fact that hap- 
piness, faith, courage, love and consideration are strong enough to 
absolutely counteract the destructive conditions and produce most 
marvelous results. 

The way in which the brain and spinal cord are protected from 
outside influences cannot be better described than by James who 
says — "they are shut up in a bony box composed of the skull and 
spinal column. 

"They are floated in a fluid so that only the severest shock can 
give them a concussion, in short they are wrapped about and blank- 
eted in an altogether exceptional way. 

The only impression that can be made on them is through the 
blood on the one side and the sensory nerve roots on the other." 

Thus we see the whole plasticity of the brain sums itself up 
in a few words when we call it an organ in which currents pouring 
in, make with extreme facility, paths which do not easily disappear, 
and which become deeper each time they are used. 



36 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Thus even one thought makes an impression. The same thought 
repeated makes a deeper impression and so on until the groove pro- 
duced by the constantly repeated thought must show itself in action. 

In the nervous system, it has been found that many disorders, 
termed functional, seem to have been kept going just because they 
once commenced. Neuralgia, insomnia, fits of temper, hysteria are 
much easier to yield to a second time, and by the third or fourth oc- 
casion, the individual has come to believe that she is afflicted with 
an incurable disorder. 

Yet cases of insomnia have been cured by arranging so that the 
patient must spend several nights without any effort to court sleep 
until finally the desire becomes so great that it will of necessity 
come. 

It has been said that even under the most favorable conditions 
and when supplied with plenty of food, without worry or exertion 
animals cannot survive for longer than from five to eight days with- 
out sleep. 

Yet the allied armies marched and fought for nine days in the 
retreat from Mons to Marne, with but little if any opportunity 
for sleep, excepting what they could snatch when halting. When 
finally the wounded were housed in Meaux, De Gros states that 
instead of the groans and moans ordinarily heard, there was in- 
stead nothing but a profound silence, and as the Red Cross workers 
sought out the victims, they found them lying with shattered limbs, 
abdomens and chests torn open, faces battered beyond hope of re- 
cognition, but still sleeping. In this condition all manner of major 
operations were performed and the patients continued to sleep on 
peacefully, not paying any attention to anything for several days, 
when with returning consciousness came the ordinary sensations 
of pain and discomfort. 

This incident will ever be famous in history as a proof that 
under the spell of prolonged exhaustion all other habits of thought 
are utterly obliterated. 

One of the great specialists in Nervous disorders traces the 
beginning of many of the functional diseases to a desire on the 
part of a child to escape some punishment or from young girls to 
be excused from school, or on the part of young wives to obtain 
sympathy until these cases of simulated illness really become true. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT $7 

Thus deceptions that were first started without a vestige of 
justification, are soon recognized as established facts, and Mother's 
weekly sick headaches, sister's nervous attacks, brother's ugly tem- 
per, all are expected as a matter of course. And often we will see 
an entire family in abject fear of some one individual who will in 
the slightest provocation, fly into a violent fit of temper and pro- 
ceed to hurl plates, break the furniture or indulge in some similar 
pastime, if they chance to be crossed in any way. 

Now, while I do not mean to say that all neuralgias, headaches 
and functional disorders are habits brought about by the deliberate 
will or the carelessness of the individual, I do say that just as all 
pain or feeling of any kind was deadened by the desire to sleep 
on the part of the soldiers in their retreat, so any functional dis- 
order or destructive habit of thought may be entirely obliterated by 
the desire on the part of the individual to improve and the ability 
to make a habit of optimistic, health-bringing, constructive think- 
ing. 

And, I further believe that until we learn to be honest with 
ourselves and to withhold sympathy where it is not deserved and 
to resolutely encourage each one to a point where illness will never 
be simulated as an excuse for anything, we shall have many of these 
very conditions to combat whenever we propose something differ- 
ent or something better. 

Kindly, well-meaning, excuse-making mothers have ruined more 
children through the over-use of sympathy and the under-use of 
common sense than in any other way. 

Whether it is your child or mine, your friend or mine, your 
sister or mine, let us help, not hinder in the formation of the 
right kind of habits. 

Let us see in the habit of being ten minutes late or over-sleeping, 
or the getting out of doing something disagreeable, the failure to 
be considerate, the sullen look, the critical air — habits that may ruin 
the career and which should be abolished right now instead of be- 
ing condoned, or over-looked. 

Let us be strong enough to point out errors of this kind in 
those whom we employ, knowing as we do so, that we can help 



38 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

these people to adopt the constructive attitude of mind that will 
keep their feelings from being hurt, when reproved. 

In many places plans are being inaugurated for keeping people 
well instead of waiting for them to be sick before paying them any 
attention, with the result that not only has the health of all im- 
proved, but the efficiency has been greatly increased at the same 
time. 

Some employers have also adopted the idea of a Stay Well Prize 
and instead of showering attentions on those who have broken some 
physical and many mental rules in being ill, they actually remem- 
ber to reward those who have been applying all of these rules and 
have been at their posts constantly. 

The best cures and those that have produced the greatest and 
most lasting effect may be called by a dozen different names but they 
are all based on the very same idea, that is, to changing the habit 
of thought. 

The drunkard, who has been thinking "drink will brace me 
up," is persuaded to think and to know that drink is so much 
poison. The user of morphine and cocaine is taught that the use 
of the drug may bring temporary forgetfulness or inspiration but 
that the aftermath is failure and death. The chronic invalid who 
has consulted every doctor and visited every sanitarium is convinced 
that she can be healed and that her own faith is a stronger tonic 
than anything she can ever find in a bottle, and she begins to chant, 
"I am health, I am harmony, I am happiness." 

And in the great majority of cases it has been proved that not 
a case has relapsed where the mental discipline has been thorough 
enough to establish the new habit firmly. 

These same rules apply to all departments in life, and may be 
utilized for any purpose. 

The more we delve into the reason why progress may only be 
made by following certain procedures, the more we realize that 
in order to produce any act of any kind, the brain must first re- 
ceive a message before the action can follow and so we come to 
know that action is but a manifestation of thought, and that an 
intelligent knowledge of the marvelous mechanism known as the 
brain and the nervous system is necessary. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 39 

"Words are great forces in the realm of life, 

Be careful of their use, who talks of hate, 
Of poverty, of sickness, but sets rife, 

These very elements to mar his fate, 
When love, health, happiness and plenty hear 

Their names repeated day by day, 
They wing their way like answering fairies near, 

Then nestle down within our home to stay." 

For many years men formed the habit of thinking that they 
were poor worms of the earth, miserable sinners, not worthy of 
recognition and consequently they took poverty and suffering and 
sickness as a matter of course. 

Indeed at one time in the world's history, it was considered posi- 
tively vulgar to be robust and people were taught that intellect 
and a good constitution were incompatible terms. The man or wo- 
man who asserted the "I" was criticized as being an egoist while 
the man or woman who declared that they worshipped God, but 
cared nothing for the I, was a saint. 

After a long and most uncomfortable time, the thought com- 
menced to dawn on some of the thinkers that the highest praise to 
be given the Great Spirit was to respect and reverence his handi- 
work, by recognizing in each individual the spark of divinity that 
by constant watching could be encouraged into a most astonishing 
flame. 

Instead of the smug, self-satisfied complacency of the self-styled 
saints, and the sad and constantly self -belittled sinners, there grew 
a knowledge that after all there were no saints and sinners, but 
just men and women, some of them living constructive lives, and 
thus further along in life's lessons, others struggling with the de- 
structive currents and thus retarded in their growth. 

And as a result of this thought, man has come to know that 
there are three things desirable in all lives and that from these three 
things all other varieties may be made. 

Health should be the inalienable birth-right of everyone, for 
between the mind and the body there is always action and re-action, 
and we are deficient in health if we are not always capable of em- 
ploying the right view-point toward our fellow-men or indeed to- 
ward life itself. 

Prosperity, meaning an abundance, allows freedom from care 
and thus opens the door to greater usefulness, so we should include 
prosperity as one of the essentials to a truly constructive life. 



40 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 

Harmony may be defined in it's highest expression as Love, and 
Love is our most powerful aid because the vibrations are so power- 
ful that when radiated in a constant stream they not only render 
harmless the lower vibrations of hatred, anger and jealousy, but 
also enable us to help others to find the truth. 

RESUME. 

Positive qualities of the mind have been compared to a mag- 
net. Negative qualities of the mind are compared to a destructive, 
cell-demolishing influence. 

Happiness, faith, love, courage, cheerfulness, perseverance, are 
positive qualities. 

Fear, anger, jealousy, worry, indolence, are destructive quali- 
ties. 

The only impression that may be made on the brain and spinal 
cord under ordinary conditions is through the blood or the sensory 
nerve roots. 

Plasticity of the brain is described by explaining that "it is an 
organ in which currents pouring in make with extreme facility paths 
which do not easily disappear and which become deeper and deeper 
each time they are used." 

Even one thought makes an impression. The same thought fre- 
quently repeated makes a much deeper impression each time show- 
ing itself in action. 

Our nervous system grows to the mode in which it has been 
exercised, that is, our thoughts effect our nervous system. 

Many functional diseases such as neuralgia, hysteria and other 
troubles seem to have been kept going just because they once com- 
menced. 

Thus the habit of simulating ill-health to escape punishment or 
to attract sympathy has often resulted in ill-health. 

The habit of talking hard times and claiming to be poor has 
resulted in making people poor in reality as well as in spirit. 

Excuse-making parents or teachers or friends hinder rather than 
help the progress of all those they excuse from doing their full duty. 

All improvements, as indeed, all cures, must begin with a change 
in the thought habit. 

The highest praise to be given to the divine spirit is the recog- 
nition and encouragement of the spark within each individual by 
the assertion "I am" and the belief in one's ability to overcome all 
obstacles. 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE VALUE OF POSITIVE THOUGHT. 

Long, long years ago, so the story is told, 
A maiden named Doubt, loved young Courage so bold. 
Their marriage was blest by four children 'tis said, 
And each parent named two, at least, so I've read. 
The first was called Will and the second was Wont, 
The third was named Do and the fourth one was Dont. 
Like sturdy young plants they flourished and grew, 
And astonished their friends by the things they would do. 
Young Will was a wonder at work or at play, 
He was busy as could be, while Wont sat all day. 
Objecting, complaining, his face sad and long, 
Declaring to his mind this world was all wrong. 
Do pushed right ahead, leaving nothing undone, 
But Dont was a mule and oft balked just for fun. 
So they grew and developed until one fine day, 
They attempted to find what the world had to say. 
Do soon found an opening and rose to success, 
Don't couldn't find work and thus failed to progress. 
Will forged straight ahead and was known far and wide, 
Wont kept right on balking and balked till he died. 
The moral is plain for those who can see, 
It consists in the warning to heed carefully, 
The names that you use and the names that you wear, 
If you wish to succeed and escape from the snare 
Of failure and poverty, sickness and woe, 
And be sure of enjoyment wherever you go. 
Know thought is your guide, while your name merely proves 
What kind of ideas have lodged in the grooves 
Of your mind, the one place you should ever be sure, 
To keep peaceful, harmonious, joyous and pure. 

To build for the permanent possession of desirable qualities of 
mind, means beginning right now, this minute, to use every con- 
structive faculty we have and to check carelessness in speech as 
well as in thought, for in fact, we could not express ourselves at 
all unless the brain first gave the signal. 



42 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

The woman who lives in the "can't afford" residence must change 
her abiding place to the neighborhood of Abundance, where she may- 
secure the things she desires, not because someone else will give them 
to her, but because she has created them in her own mind, and they 
will come to her naturally as a result of her work. 

When every plan has been brushed aside, every expressed hope 
apparently crushed and everyone out of sympathy, that is just the 
time to be stronger and firmer than ever, knowing that it is only 
by feats of strength the physical muscles are developed and by 
tests and trials such as this, that the quality of the mind may be 
ascertained. 

This is the time that the "I will" and "I am" must be repeated, 
not only once but many times and the thought of Harmony made 
stronger than ever. 

In short it will mean the possession of a faith strong enough 
to keep one working on, no matter what the immediate present may 
seem to be, filled with belief in the power so well described in these 
lines — 

"Unseen it helpeth ye with faithful hands, 
Unheard it speaketh louder than the storm." 

A few tests of this description will do wonders toward develop- 
ing a personality and will soon brush from the vocabulary the "buts" 
"ifs", "maybe's" and "possiblys" so frequently used. 

Then we will find that the condition known as trouble is merely 
a something that vibrated at a rate so different from our own vi- 
brations that it produced a discord, and we will commence to treat 
trouble as we would any other discord, only instead of losing our 
temper or our grit, we will just tune up our own minds and by 
our positive attitude will soon so change the vibrations, that in 
a short time the trouble will have resolved itself into a problem, 
the solution of which will really prove to be a beneficial experi- 
ence. 

Grief and it's bearing on life is well described by Emerson when 
he said "the only thing grief has taught me, is to know how shal- 
low it is." 

Moreover, as we continue to analyze our thought processes and 
the effects they produce we shall come to see that the large number 
of people who declare they have practiced right thinking for years 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 43 

without results are not really untruthful, but instead are mistaken 
in their conception of what the Constructive Thought habit actually 
means. 

And usually an investigation will prove that those discouraged 
individuals have perhaps affirmed health, wealth and harmony night 
and morning and perhaps during the day, but between times their 
minds have been so filled with self-pity, worry, fear, condemnation 
and criticism that naturally the Destructive Thoughts had been gradu- 
ally controlling the individuals instead of being so under the do- 
minion of their wills that they could never have gained a foothold. 

One young woman who had made very excellent progress when 
she first took up this study but who later did not seem to be forg- 
ing ahead, complained to me one day that she did not think there 
was much in Constructive Thinking anyway. 

"Do you practice it constantly?" I asked. 

"Yes, indeed," she replied with enthusiasm, "whenever I think 
there is going to be trouble, I get just as Harmonious as I can be." 

And yet, though I did my best to explain her lack of Con- 
structive Thinking, to this day the young woman cannot understand 
how, if she has been really harmonious, she could not have even 
surmised there might be trouble in her neighborhood. 

A business woman who was discussing the benefits of Thought, 
also made a peculiar application of the idea. "I have been desiring 
and planning to go into, a certain business in New Orleans," she said. 
"And I have worked at the subject constantly. If I don't go there 
"I am through with Constructive Thought." 

"You want Success, do you not?" I asked. "Why certainly," 
she said. 

"Well, then, why not think Success and Abundance constantly 
and when you are ready, take the location that promises you the 
best results, instead of selecting the location and insisting that there 
alone can you succeed." 

The advice was not exactly what she expected, but she followed 
it and really did succeed, but she did not go to New Orleans as that 
particular city was overcrowded. 

Another young woman came to me one day declaring that though 
she had practiced faithfully, she was in just the same condition as 



44 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

before, and that now when she wanted and needed a new spring 
suit, she could not get it, because if she did, she could not take a sum- 
mer vacation. 

"But you have the money for the new spring suit?" I asked. 

"Yes, but that will take nearly all I have." 

"Never mind," I said, "if you must have that spring suit, get 
get it, but don't get it grudgingly, spend every cent gladly and know 
that through abundant supply, you will have everything you need, no 
matter if you are earning a nominal sum each week." 

And once more I explained how that one term "can't afford" 
shut off the supply of abundance just as effectually as the turning 
off of the switch would shut off the electric light in the room, even 
though it might be ready for use. 

Well, the young woman bought her suit, paid even more than 
she intended and paid it gladly, declaring to me that she knew she 
was right and that her supply would not be diminished. 

Just four weeks later, this young woman received a letter from 
an Aunt she had not seen in ten years, with a check for her travel- 
ing expenses, inviting her to spend the month of July at the Lake 
with her. She accepted and when she came back bronzed, and 
fairly radiating with happiness, she waved a check for $100.00 
at me and cried, "See what my belief in abundance did for me. I 
had my suit, and vacation and am actually money ahead." 

Another young woman who was studying those same truths, came 
to me in great bewilderment, because she could help others and 
not herself. 

"Why," she said, "I helped one girl pass her examinations and 
got her so encouraged she started for Madison. I encouraged an- 
other young man to get a splendid position that his destructive 
thought had kept him from obtaining. I persuaded a friend of 
mine to make money in her business instead of losing it, and yet 
if I demonstrated a trip to New York for myself, I probably would 
have to walk back from Cleveland." 

And I told her she undoubtedly would have to walk back from 
Cleveland not only now but the rest of her life, until she could get 
rid of the personal fear and apply these truths to herself. 

The great difficulty in the way of getting all people to indulge 
in the habit of Constructive Thinking is that many of them seem 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 45 

to think it savors of the supernatural, or some form of queer re- 
ligion and that it is almost blasphemous to assert that, within any 
ordinary human being can reside the spark of the divine, yet these 
same people will calmly read from the scriptures "In the begin- 
ning God created Heaven and Earth and all that is thereon." 

People of this type also seem to feel that any good fortune 
should come to them labeled and ready to be digested, but absolute- 
ly without effort on their part. 

Tell them as I am telling you that every one of us have within 
us the self-same qualities that all great people have and that all 
they need for development is positive thought, and they merely 
smile politely. 

In fact the average man or woman dislikes intensively this idea 
of personal responsibility. It is so much easier to blame someone 
else for failure when things go wrong, or to explain how in this 
individual case conditions fairly invited failure. 

Indeed many people approach ever} 7 question from the negative 
side. They will ask the very person they are trying to interest, 
in such a negative way that the path is barricaded from the be- 
ginning. 

For example, one will hear the clerk say, "There isn't anything 
more you would like to see to-day Madame, is there?" 

Naturally the answer is "No." 

Or you will hear someone declare, "I don't suppose I can in- 
terest you in anything of this kind" — and he cannot do so. 

Or you will listen to some woman who longs for something in 
the shop window sigh, "There is no use wishing for those things, 
they are beyond me." Or the girl who wishes to go to college will 
sigh, "what's the use of trying. Father will never consent," or the 
housewife will approach her husband something in this way, "of 
course you will say "No," but really I think Arthur should change 
his position.'' 

Maybe there is money to be paid out. There again comes the 
negative thought. Instead of dreading the paying of bills and groan- 
ing as the money leaves your hands, remember that you get back 
what you give out. You want that money and much more to re- 
turn to you. Then pay it out cheerfully, fairly shake hands with 
it and say mentally, if not aloud, "Good-bye, I am glad I can use 



46 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

you and I hope that you will take comfort wherever you go and 
come back to me when the time is ripe, with a host of companions." 

Supposing prices are high, be glad you can pay them and rejoice 
in your ability to make more money. People have always complained 
of prices anyway, and always in some district, calamity howlers have 
said, "hard times." One old lady who listened to the wails of her 
children and grandchildren in regard to prices, said calmly one 
day. "Children, I am seventy-eight, and I have lived every minute 
of that time in comfort, and yet many, many times I have heard 
people say that we would have no coal or no wheat or could not 
earn money enough to pay our bills, but we did and we have and 
we always will have, if we but spend one-half as much time in 
working and believing as we do in complaining and disturbing." 

And indeed, if more of us could but see that we are only penni- 
less as long as we hold that feeling of lack, if we could only stop 
feeling that "in our city things are different," and that the people 
with whom we come in contact have no money, if we could but 
realize and develop the habit of thinking positive, prosperous thoughts 
instead of the negative ones of lack, we would be able to develop 
the riches of a Croesus and the powers of a Jupiter whenever we 
decided to work in the right way. 

Instead of waking every morning with the memory of yester- 
day's troubles and tribulations and lack, we would wake with the 
desire and determination to breathe in health, harmony, prosperity 
and happiness, we would know that our brain substance had won- 
derful recuperative power and we would deliberately send positive 
thoughts of good and prosperity and success into it, until a well 
denned groove had been established. We would banish the age and 
limitations thought by declaring youth and progress and thus by 
our positive will convert ourselves into magnets strong enough to 
attract to us all that we desired. 

A few days of practice might be necessary it is true, in order to 
eliminate the old habits, but the results would well warrant the 
investment of time ; while the development of the individual would 
be so rapid, that no slipping back into the old thought-habits would 
ever occur, for positive-thought-habits show themselves surely in 
permanent improvement, clearness of vision and confidence in the 
outcome of all effort rightly expended. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 47 

RESUME. 

The value of any thought to the individual consists not only in 
the clearness with which it is experienced but also in the positive 
manner in which it is expressed. 

To think positively for one hour and negatively for two hours 
so weakens the positive that results must naturally be far from 
satisfactory. 

To be certain that only positive thoughts have been used dur- 
ing the day, the method of self analysis will be found most help- 
ful as it will instantly detect a negative idea, and thus enable the 
student to use energy in the most beneficial manner. 

The positive habit of thinking when constantly practised will 
so magnetize the brain cells that greater powers of attraction for 
desirable qualities will be manifested all of the time. 

It is well for the beginner to associate as much as possible with 
positive people who are thinking and living in these same currents, 
and who therefore may aid by their own example. 

Negative people frequently depress, discourage and dishearten 
those who are not sufficiently positive to repel their suggestions. 

Arguments are equally futile, hence, the wisdom of progressing 
with the least possible friction until the habit of positive thinking 
has been fully established. 



CHAPTER VII. 

OTHER PEOPLE 

"He will be Immortal who liveth to ibe stoned by one without 
fault." 

"Advice is seldom welcome. Those like it least, who need it 
most." 

"Seek not to pour the world into thy little mold, 
Each as its nature is, its being must unfold, 
Thou art but a string in life's vast sounding board, 
And other strings as sweet will not with thine accord." 

When one realizes that to attain even a partial control over 
one's own thoughts is a wonderful achievement, while complete 
self-mastery savors on the miraculous, the absurdity of trying to 
regulate the conduct of others is made so plain that none can evade 
admitting it. 

Action has been defined as the manifestation of thought. Imag- 
ination then may be said to be the pictured thought, while personality 
is the materialization of Imagination. 

The more active the imagination, the more ingenuity is required 
to guide it into constructive paths and away from those that lead to 
criticism and condemnation of others whose conduct does not 
happen to meet with our approval, or whose example we fear may 
not be quite what it should be for somebody else. 

Nervous people are particularly prone to imagine the wrong 
things, and the moment their duties are finished and they lie down 
at night, they commence to magnify and elaborate on the disagree- 
able events of the day, living over every trying moment, knowing 
that things will go even worse to-morrow, and feeling that they are 
showing a conscientious regard for their family, their household or 
their business by this process which they term "thinking things over." 

Insulted when told they are not even managing their own lives, 
they keep resolutely at their task of at least mentally managing every- 
one else, by suggesting to them what horrible things may happen 
and by magnifying every fault they have ever observed. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT.* HABIT 49 

They fairly think negative conditions into existence and often 
act as a barrier to the progress of those associated with them, be- 
cause of the forceful manner with which they insist upon regulat- 
ing not only the habits but the thoughts of all those with whom 
they associate. 

Not until such people learn that it will take all of the energy 
and ability they possess to manage their own lives will they learn 
to stop putting their hands on others and either pushing or drag- 
ging them where they see fit to have them go. 

A well-known actress who had by the exercise of her own will 
cured herself of the drug habit told me that the work of controlling 
her own thought world afterwards was the hardest work she had 
ever done, while to learn the lesson of not interfering with other 
people's lives was almost as difficult. 

Finally one night, she made up her mind to stop fussing about 
others and try perfecting herself, resolving never to give any ad- 
vice or suggestions unless she was requested to do so, and in sending 
out thoughts to send only those that were filled with courage and 
faith and confidence. 

Each night she imagined herself bathed in the golden light of 
Love as she floated on the current of Harmony, and this practice 
she claimed meant more to her than any tonic ever invented. 

As a consequence, in one year, she looked ten years younger and 
was more magnetic, while her success was phenomenal. 

All who are brought into contact with her realize that in some 
way she is possessed of something extraordinary, and so grateful 
is she for her own uplifting that she uses her time and advice gra- 
ciously and gratuitously for all who seem to need aid in their man- 
ner of thinking. 

As an example of the simple methods that she finds effective, I will 
quote from an experience given by one of the members of her com- 
pany who had been ill for a week and was complaining of the fact 
that she had been unable to work, ending by saying — "Why, even 
the sun doesn't shine half the time." 

Miss J. listened calmly, then going to the window she pointed 
to a plant with its leaves turned toward the light, waiting to catch 
every stray sun-beam. As she stood there, the sun did come out 
for a few moments and bathed the plant in a great flood of radiance, 



50 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

while the young invalid, lounging in a chair at the other end of 
the room failed to catch even a vestige of it. 

Then she said quietly, "All plants seem to have a heaven-born 
desire to make use of what nature provides for them. You see 
this one was ready and thus profited by the occasional glimpse of 
the sun, while you sulked in the corner." 

The next day the little plant looked so fresh and healthy that 
the patient ashamed of her own indolence, got up to the window, 
caught a few sun-beams herself and decided to get well, and better 
still, while she was gaining strength made use of her spare time to 
study and read and make an effort to acquire the right thought habit, 
thus dispelling her despondent moods. 

Those who allow tramp thoughts to come swarming into their 
brain just because they are too indolent or too weary to resist 
them, should be awakened to the harm these visitors may do. 

Every image of disease, poverty, lack, unhappiness, anger, or 
grief that is allowed to remain for any time at all commences tele- 
graphing its presence to the other atoms in the body. Soon a cor- 
respondence is established that will surely manifest itself in some 
physical or mental disturbance. 

That is why it is so imperative that every seeking soul be im- 
pressed with the importance of practicing the right thought just 
as religiously as one would practice a new piece of music until it 
finally becomes an automatic affair to think as one should no mat- 
ter what may happen, and an inharmonious thought won't dare to 
put in an appearance. 

Conscious imaging is a most wonderful assistant in the work 
of Thought Building. 

By this is meant the constant filling of the mind with the image 
of what we desire, and living no matter what the condition may 
seem to be in a state of oneness with our desires. 

Are we disappointed in someone? Or have we been led into an 
argument that has resulted in a misunderstanding, or perhaps a rup- 
ture of our relations? 

We shall spend no time in recriminations, regrets or sorrows, 
neither will we think of the other person as wrong, for she express- 
ed herself as she saw the subject. Instead, we shall in thinking of 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 5 1 

her, see with her best qualities and her finest attributes, remember- 
ing always that truth will always be manifested in due time. 

Blaming others for being as they are, for not seeing things as 
we do, liking the things that we like, and having our moods instead 
of their own, is so utterly inconsistent with common-sense, that one 
wonders how anyone can do it. 

Yet, it is, indeed, rare that two or more people engage in conver- 
sation without "wondering why on earth Jane married that man, 
when she could have done so much better/' or "why George insists 
upon living beyond his income and spending so much money on his 
cars," or "what Mrs. Jones can mean by allowing her young daugh- 
ters to associate with the Graham children," or perhaps they will 
descend to the kitchen and proceed to elaborate on the faults of the 
cook or maybe the chauffeur may engage their attention, or the bad 
service of the Elevated, or the Subway. Always the topic seems to 
turn to what is wrong, and but little time is wasted on the many 
right things that one meets. 

Few, however, have any philosophy when the faults of their 
friends or their immediate family are concerned, and they spend as 
a consequence, a great deal of their energy and much of their time, 
explaining these very evident errors to all who will listen. 

Is Mary untidy? She is reminded of it so many times a day 
that she either becomes callous or thinks "Well, I am untidy, what's 
the use of denying it?" 

Is John thoughtless? He is told on every occasion how remiss 
he is until finally he, too, decides to slide through life, with a half 
deprecating grin as he explains : "I really can't think of things, 
you know, though I would be glad to do them if some one sug- 
gested them." 

Is Katherine worn and tired? She is told in so many words that 
she looks as old as the hills and ready for the hospital, and the 
good work is kept up until she feels older than she looks and acts 
sicker than she is. 

So these well-meaning but unthinking souls keep insisting on 
the negative phases of life, criticising, condemning, excusing and 
emphasizing, but none of the time realizing that by this habit of 
constant nagging they are helping to make the other person's thought 
habit more destructive than ever. 



52 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

To succeed in life, one must have a definite aim. To rise above 
the masses one must have high aspirations. So to really help or 
improve our friends, associates or family, let us steadily look for 
their good qualities, dwell upon them, mention them frequently, 
and then when the time seems ripe for mentioning the seeming 
errors let us be able to say and to say truthfully, "I have seen so 
much improvement in the one direction, that I am sure you are 
growing better and stronger thought-habits every day." 

In all of the work in the human gardens, we must ever bear 
in mind that the gardener who concentrated his entire attention on 
getting rid of weeds would have no time to plant the good seed or to 
take care of the desirable crops. 

And in our endeavors, let us encourage the growth of the good, 
by watering it with human kindness and sympathetic understanding, 
removing the weeds in the manner that seems least conspicuous, 
and seeing always the ideal toward which we are striving rather than 
the material we are endeavoring to develop. 

This ability to see what other people need is so well marked, 
that rarely is there a good passage read aloud or a good thought 
uttered that someone in the company does not mention, "I certainly 
wish Miss could hear that. She certainly needs it." 

Now Miss may need it, but it should be given to her with 

the thought that it will help her grow a better consciousness, not 
with the feeling that it will make her see where she has been en- 
tirely wrong. 

Occasionally one finds people so well trained that they never 
express blame. No, indeed, they would not be so vulgar. They just 
feel it and think it and keep it corked up inside, never dreaming 
that every act and every look is showing their state of mind just as 
well as any words they can use and is making others quite as un- 
comfortable. 

A philosopher, who had mastered many problems of life and was 
noted for his poise, was one day asked why he paid no attention to 
either flattery or ridicule. "Because," he answered, "a man can 
neither be praised or insulted. He knows what he is, and he does 
not allow the opinion of others to affect him." 

When asked how he managed to get so much good out of life, and 
to find so many fine qualities in others, he said: "I have been 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 53 

trained since early youth to look upon human beings as I would on 
the animals in the forest. Each may be perfect of its kind though 
utterly unlike some other animal. Consequently I do not expect the 
hare to have the courage of the lion, or the fox to be like the deer, 
or the bear to be as the marmoset. In the farm yards, I know the 
cow gives milk and is useful for that reason. The oxen have great 
strength and do their share by hauling heavy loads, while the horses 
carry us about in comfort. So among my friends I see each has 
his sphere of usefulness and each is developing according to his 
capabilities and not according to what I might think or advise, and I 
am content." 

In considering the habits of my friends, I neither praise nor 
condemn, for I do not know what their needs may be, so I copy the 
guide of a wiser man than I, who wrote these words nearly two 
thousand years ago: 

"Does a man bathe quickly? Do not say he bathed badly, but 

that he bathes quickly. 
Does a man drink much wine? Do not say he drinks badly but 

he drinks much. 
For before you shall have determined the opinion, how do you 

know whether he is acting wrong?" 

By heeding the advice of these wise men, we may many of us be 
saved errors if not regret, while we may learn that "every day proves 
to each soul she is either a little stronger or a little weaker, a little 
nobler or more inclined to notice petty actions, a little happier or 
more discontented, more of a tonic to others or more depressing 
than she was the day before." 



RESUME 

People with vivid imaginations often find their thought-world 
rilled with the wrong images and are perplexed to tell from where 
they came. 

Unless they have formed the habit of self -analysis they may 
even declare they "can't help feeling a certain way." 

Thus one learns the necessity for watchfulness in the recogni- 
tion of destructive thoughts and energy in eliminating them at once. 



54 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

To absolutely avoid this condition, it is merely necessary to main- 
tain a feeling of Oneness with the Universal Spirit. 

When, then, one has failed to maintain this connection, it is nec- 
essary to recognize that every thought of depression, worry, dread, 
lack, poverty or unhappiness are destructive and should be replaced 
at once by thoughts of peace, power, harmony, love, courage and 
abundance. 

Constant imaging of good is of great assistance in building the 
right thought-habits. 

Blame unexpressed is quite as destructive as when expressed for 
it corrodes and destroys. 

Few people develop themselves beyond the point where they 
do not occasionally succumb to the influence of destructive thoughts. 
It is said not one person in one hundred thousand has attained even 
a partial control over his own mind and emotions. Realizing this 
truth, one can at once see the futility of attempting to control others 
and the senselessness of judging them. 



CHAPTER VIII 

GROWING NERVES THE RIGHT WAY 

"Our nervous system grows to the mode in which it has been 
exercised." — James. 

"Strange is it, yet 'tis true, 
Man's fate is not ruled by a star, 
For whatever we think, we are, 
And whatever we are, we do." 

The necessity for right thinking may be impressed upon the 
mind of all much more readily when a general idea of the remark- 
able reconstructive ability of the brain is recognized. 

We have learned that "sensations or thoughts, frequently re- 
peated, make with extreme facility paths that do not readily disap- 
pear." And we must also learn how we may best go about remedy- 
ing past mistakes of mind, repairing the good roads and making 
them easier to travel, while at the same time we seek to obliterate 
every vestige of the undesirable paths. 

The average layman speaks of any injury to the nervous system 
or any form of brain trouble with hushed breath, as though it were 
something incurable, and as a consequence, all sorts of excuses are 
made for people because "their nerves are so bad," or "their nervous 
systems are so delicate," or "every member of that family is nervous." 

But authorities unite in declaring that the brain has wonderful 
recuperative powers, and Dr. Carpenter even declares: "There is 
no part of the organism of man in which the reconstructive activity 
is so great during the whole period of life as in the ganglionic sub- 
stance of the brain. This is indicated by the enormous quantities of 
blood it receives." 

Read that statement carefully, you who looked with such fear on 
nervous afflictions and realize that great as we know the recuper- 
ative qualities of the rest of the system to be, that of the brain leads 
the list. 

Dr. Carpenter goes on to explain: "It is a matter of great sig- 
nificance that the nerve substance is particularly distinguished by its 



56 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

recuperative power. For while injuries to tissues such as the mus- 
cular are repaired by a substance of lower or less specialized type, 
those of the Nervous Substance are repaired by a complete repro- 
duction of the normal tissue, as is evidenced in the sensibility of 
the newly forming skin which is closing over an open wound, or in 
the recovery of the sensibility of a piece of transplanted skin, which 
has had for some time been rendered insensible by the complete in- 
terruption of the continuity of its nerves." 

Of course, we have all read of cases in which bits of skin have 
been cheerfully given by any number of people for the benefit of 
some one to whom a certain number of inches of new skin was 
absolutely necessary, but I don't think many of us have realized 
until some man like Dr. Carpenter brings the truth home to us, just 
how powerful it is to have the sensibility appear in that piece of 
grafted skin, showing that the nervous system has actually perse- 
vered until the sensation felt in the new skin proves what has taken 
place. 

Brown Sequard has also contributed some very interesting facts 
on the nervous system and he even declares that "In some instances 
after a complete division of the spinal cord, there has been a gradual 
restoration of the functional activity, indicating rather a reproduc- 
tion of that part, than a mere re-union of divided surfaces." 

He also states that "what is so clearly true of the nervous ap- 
paratus of animal life, can hardly be otherwise than true of that 
which ministers to the automatic activity of the brain." 

All authorities agree that there are uniformities of mental ac- 
tion so closely allied to those of bodily action as to indicate their 
intimate relationship to a mechanism of thought and feeling. 

Thus, we find ourselves inclined automatically to feel and act the 
way we have acted under similar conditions without any real reason 
for our doing any of these things except that we felt impelled to 
do so. 

And there is no reason for believing that the brain is any excep- 
tion to the rule that — any part of any organism tends to form itself 
in accordance with the way in which it has been exercised. 

This tendency should be particularly strong in the nervous system 
because of the incessant regeneration which is the very condition of 
its functional activity. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 57 

Two boys of the same age, weight and height may be placed in 
entirely different occupations. 

The one will be confined to his desk eight hours out of the 
twenty- four at some occupation that will develop his reasoning facul- 
ties, the other will be out of doors for the same number of hours, 
perhaps, driving a car. 

Reverse the occupation and for the first week, each boy will be 
mentally, as well as physically, fatigued, because their nervous sys- 
tems have been exercised in an entirely different manner, and these new 
occupations require conscious attention all of the time. 

At the end of one week return them to their respective positions, 
and for the first few hours each will feel awkward, showing how 
quickly the nervous system can adapt itself to a change of this kind. 

The strength of early association may thus easily be explained. 
What one has been trained to know and accept as truth in his youth 
will usually cling to him all the years of his life, unless some far 
stronger, desire compelling, influence is brought to bear. 

"Habit is Nature/' said the Duke of Wellington. "Habit is ten 
times Nature!" 

Thus we come to a realization that in addition to remembering the 
fact that our nervous system possesses the greatest reparative power 
of any tissue in the body, we must also bear in mind constantly that 
habit proves to us we must use every effort to prevent ourselves 
from producing the wrong impression upon this system, for we 
find that it grows in the mode to which it has been exercised, and 
that even the occasional repetition of a harmful act may bring in its 
train most objectionable and harmful reactions. 

If words could only be strong enough to impress these facts on 
every faltering, sighing, despondent human being, what a different 
world we would soon have. 

We all know that without a nervous system we could neither 
see, smell, taste, hear, move, feel, talk, or even breathe, but we have 
become so accustomed to doing these things that we lose sight of the 
marvelous mechanism that permits us to do them. 

We listen just as you are listening now, to the truths as proved 
by the greatest scientists that this nervous system of ours possesses 
the greatest reparative and reproductive power of any system in 
the body. 



58 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

We nod our heads agreeably as we hear it grows to the mode 
in which it is exercised. 

We admit politely that each one should take great care to avoid 
forming harmful habits. 

But which one of us is wise enough, brave enough or energetic 
enough to stop right here, do a bit of self analysis, and then as a 
result proceed to alter his or her own modes of thought or expression by 
resolutely training his or her own nervous systems to grow in the most 
practical and beneficial way? 

'Way out in California. Burbank dreamed of teaching plants and 
vegetables new habits. 

Wiseacres laughed at him, but Burbank persisted, and as a con- 
sequence the world knows what wonders have been accomplished, 
not only in changing the size and appearance of berries, apples, pears, 
tomatoes, and indeed any other thing he happened to use as an ex- 
periment, but also in some instances the quality of flavor was mar- 
velously improved. 

Then, as a final test of what could be accomplished, this pro- 
gressive man displayed to the world a tree upon which oranges, 
lemons and grape-fruit were growing at the same time, each one 
retaining the same characteristics that it would have had if grown 
on its own kind of a tree. 

Yet what Burbank has done in the vegetable world is not one- 
tenth part so wonderful as the feats that may be accomplished with 
human beings, if they would but aid their nervous systems into new 
ways of working, better ways of thinking and best ways of ac- 
complishing. 

The mere fact that you do not feel inclined to make this at- 
tempt is no sign that you shouldn't make the effort, but only a 
proof that you are so saturated with the old habits, your poor old 
nervous system naturally rebels against following anything that means 
a re-adjustment. 

That you dislike certain work, or certain hours, or certain things, 
is no reason that you will continue to dislike these same things or 
conditions after you once get to working with your nervous system. 

Why, even though you have a disinclination to place much 
stress on these facts, it is no indication that the information is not 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 59 

worth while and for your good, but is merely another proof that 
you are disregarding an opportunity for accomplishing more by try- 
ing the new methods now instead of next week, next month or next 
year. 

Everything we attempt is a little strange, just a bit different and 
often a deal more different at first. That is probably one great 
reason why frail human nature has a natural inclination to balk at 
doing new things and to stick to the old methods for as long as 
possible. 

Force of habit is, indeed, a mighty force, and it will keep us 
down just as long as we allow it to do so. 

Hence, very early in any work of reformation we must reso- 
lutely decide to keep at anything we start and keep on keeping at 
it, no matter how discouraging it seems, until we finally have made some 
headway. 

And as we do so, we find that habit simplifies the movements 
required to achieve a given result, makes them more accurate and 
less susceptible to fatigue. 

The infant's first efforts to stand erect or walk are shown in ex- 
haustion after the first attempt, but gradually the act becomes less 
and less difficult, until finally walking is an accepted fact. 

Driving a car is a serious and nerve-racking business the first 
time it is tried, and every post or obstruction in the street seems to 
be an objective point, for try as one may the car seems to make 
right for the thing it shouldn't go near. Practice for a day or so, 
and presto ! the car is under control, doing as the driver desires and 
driving right by those self-same obstacles. 

So with dancing, rowing, golf, tennis, or indeed, dozens of other 
recreations. The nervous system must first be educated and then 
the body will respond as a matter of course. 



RESUME 

Every thought entering the brain makes a track. Oft repeated, 
this path becomes a groove. 

But although the brain substance is extremely sensitive, authori- 
ties unite in declaring it has the most wonderful reconstructive ac- 



60 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

tivity of any part of the organism owing to the tremendous quantities 
of blood it receives. 

As an example of the reproductive power of the nervous system, 
it will be noted in bits of transplanted skin, or in newly forming skin, 
complete sensibility is speedily evinced, even though there has been 
some time in which this portion has been insensible. 

Brown Sequard even contributes some interesting data regard- 
ing the restoration of functional activity after a division of the spinal 
cord. 

Owing to the tendency of the nervous system to repeat acts per- 
formed before we find ourselves automatically inclined to feel and 
act as we have acted under similar conditions other times, without 
any real reason for this inclination, the power of habit is made manifest. 

Instances of this kind further impress upon us the necessity for 
producing the right impression upon the nervous system so that the 
right actions may be automatic. 

What Burbank has done with the vegetable kingdom is not one- 
tenth part as wonderful as what man may do in his mental king- 
dom, by using his will to build the right thought habits. 

Habit quickly simplifies motion required to produce a desired re- 
sult and minimizes fatigue, hence the necessity for commencing 
every task the right way, though it may seem the more difficult at first. 

All effort is difficult at first but habit soon makes it easy. 



CHAPTER IX 
SETTING ASIDE LIMITATIONS 

"Have confidence in yourself. Believe in your ability to do big 
things. Only by having faith in yourself, can you compel 
others to have faith in you. Think big thoughts and back them 
up with big deeds. You can if you will. You will." — Thomas 
Dreier. 

"Many a little seed has longed to develop and send a little 
shoot up toward the sunshine. But growth has always been 
delayed until suddenly, the outer wall that limited its growth 
has been burst asunder ! Many lives are in the same condition, 
the wall of thought that limits them must be burst before real 
growth can commence." — Johnson. 

The one great infallible rule to be learned when you desire to 
think constructively, is that the conditions you desire to demonstrate 
will exist for you in just the proportion that you are capable of 
developing your own naural powers. 

If you persist in drawing a line of demarcation between yourself 
and that which you desire, or if you feel that some certain person is 
responsible for what you are to obtain, or that a certain condition 
dependent on other people is necessary for your development, then 
just so long will you be kept from making the progress you should. 

To say feebly, "I surely wish I could make something of myself, 
but Mother will never allow me to attempt anything," is no excuse; 
it is merely a statement that shows lack of true desire. 

To weep bitterly, "I always wanted to be independent but not one 
of my family would allow me to work," shows again lack of deter- 
mination. 

To explain, "Yes, indeed, I was full of enthusiasm when I 
started in the work, but one thing after another went wrong until I 
just thought I would stop trying and get out while I could," shows 
that the backbone of the speaker has never been developed at all; 
otherwise every obstacle would have spurred him on to greater effort. 

Most of the disappointments in life come because we are not 
only limited in our ability but also in our vision of what will bring 
to us the greatest happiness. 



62 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

To desire a definite thing, is the way most people begin to prove 
their ability to obtain, but often after this ability has been proved 
the thing itself does not always prove what one anticipated, and dis- 
appointment results. 

Now, nothing was wrong with the rule or the wish, but the 
worker did not realize the wisdom of working for a condition rather 
than a specific object. 

For example,, instead of feeling that to love and be loved by a 
certain person will make one happy, it is wiser to desire happiness 
and feel, even though the individual may disappoint one, happiness 
will come in its own way. 

To desire a condition and then become upset and discouraged be- 
cause every plan is changed, retards the progress of many until we 
learn that often what seems like a cruel disappointment is merely 
the opening of a better way to obtain results. 

A well known specialist on the Pacific Coast who is now using 
Psychology to a great extent in his practice tells his own experience 
as an illustration of the necessity for keeping one's faith in the ulti- 
mate outcome, no matter how dark things may look. 

He had just purchased a beautiful home in one of our large east- 
ern cities, established a lucrative practice and received the appoint- 
ment of Professor of Medicine at one of the best colleges. 

One day it occurred to him to try one of his own tests on him- 
self, and he found himself afflicted with tuberculosis. He describes 
himself as being utterly crushed, both mentally and physically, for 
the first few days. 

Finally he rallied and determined to win success in spite of poor 
health, loss of income and the sacrifice of his home. 

In ten years he had a splendid practice and his health had been 
completely restored. In fifteen years he was independently wealthy, 
and to quote from his own words: "Had I remained in what 
seemed to me such a desirable condition, I would have made a bare 
existence. As it was, when I recovered from the shock I determined 
to make good in this new country. Instead of the limited income of 
a college professor, I determined to become a specialist capable of 
earning large sums of money. I seemed to make money the moment 
I entered the town and I spent it as readily as I made it. I felt my 
supply was unlimited, and so it has proved." 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 63 

The God that controls the Universe, or if one prefers to describe 
this power as Universal Supply, is never limited. We are blessed 
with a profusion of everything and yet we fail to take advantage of 
our blessings. 

With the sunshine pouring down, many people shiver and walk 
on the shady side of the street. 

With air laden with health-giving Oxygen, many others sleep at 
night with the windows down, walk with their shoulders bent, and 
obstinately refuse to breathe deeply enough to give their lungs enough 
of Nature's remedy to purify and invigorate the blood that is pumped 
into them for this very purpose. 

Nature is always lavish. 

Man alone imposes limitations to health, wealth, harmony and 
happiness. 

Hundreds, yes thousands, of people are every day ignorantly wor- 
shipping a God of Limitations instead of a God of Abundance. They 
are not really worshipping the God that does exist, but the God that 
they think exists, and they excuse their own failure to accomplish by 
explaining: "If God really wanted me to have this or that or the 
other, he would give it to me." 

The farmer might as well say: "If God wants me to have a 
good harvest He will send the showers the crops need, and just the 
right amount of sunshine and He will stop the weeds from growing, 
and when the time is ripe and the grain is ready, I will gather it in 
and send it to the market." 

The merchant could say : "I won't take that trip to look over new 
things, I am sure God will send me just the right articles and my 
patrons will be just as well satisfied." 

And so one might go on down the line until in every department 
of life we could well imagine every one sitting down lazily and ex- 
plaining, "God will provide." 

And God does provide, but He provides in proportion to the in- 
telligence with which demands are made ; energy with which the work 
is prosecuted, and ability in organizing one's thought, habits and 
efforts. 

Those who worship the God of Limitations may be known by 
one very common trait. They are always "going to do something," 



64 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

and they are always waiting for the proper time in which to begin 
their efforts. 

If they want to continue a study, they will wait until the time 
when there shall be no interruptions and so they never commence 
that study. If they intend to pay a visit they will wait until the 
time is just right for that trip and often times that particular trip is 
never taken. 

They admire and recognize ability in others and often desire 
feebly to imitate them, but always their vision of their self-created 
God of Limitations interposes and they hear, "It may be all very 
well for those others but you know you have not the strength, not 
the ability to attempt anything of the kind/' so back they sink again 
not realizing they lacked will rather than ability. 

Ask people of this type if they enjoyed a play or a book or an 
outing, and the answer will be, "Oh yes, it was very nice, but," and 
that "but" speaks volumes. 

This limitation thought extends to all their acquaintances and 
naturally their servants, while their children are fairly steeped in it. 

YVe barely enter their homes until we learn that the youngest child 
has a very weak throat and the second one is unable to attend school 
all day, while the oldest has been having trouble with the eyes. 

During the meal, we note by the raised eyebrows and air of dis- 
content that the maid waits on the table wretchedly, and after dinner 
has been served we hear ever}* detail of her inefficiency. 

Even the neighbors are limited and we grow to think of "poor 
Mrs. Jenkin's bad heart" and "Mr. Brown's game leg," though we 
may never have seen them. 

Try to mention constructive thought, and that too is used the 
other way about. For instance, instead of saying, "I am happy, 
I will be happy" the soul with the limited vision declares "I will not 
be depressed." The one is affirmation, the other negation. 

Instead of directing the servant to dust the new statuary care- 
fully, she is warned not to break it. Instead of saying, "try to get 
home a little earlier so you may get a good night's rest," she is in- 
vited "not to stay out till morning because she has work to do the 
next day." Instead of saying, "serve the coffee in the living room 
after dinner," she is told, "don't forget and serve the coffee at the 
table but always bring it in the living room." 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 65 

Children are requested not to be bad instead of reminding them 
that it is easy to be good. They are told not to be late at school 
instead of suggesting that they be on time. They are warned not 
to get their feet wet instead of requested to keep their feet dry. 

All small matters — yes, but they show the trend of thought. 

Right here some one will ask, "what is the difference any way?" 

The difference is this. By telling some one to do the right thing 
the right way you prevent the thought of doing any thing the wrong 
way from entering the mind. 

Always suggest what you desire accomplished, not what you wish 
avoided. , 

Always affirm what you desire to accomplish, never explain why 
it is impossible for you of all people to accomplish it. 

"Don't you believe in any limitation," I am asked. 

And I answer by a quotation, "Impossible, there's no such 
word." 

No one can see the other side of the ocean, yet every day thou- 
sands embark filled with the faith that they shall reach the other side 
safely and they do. 

The beginning of the history of civilization in our own country as 
we learned it in school is one of the best illustrations we have as to 
the futility of limitations. 

Poverty, contempt, ridicule, all were tried on Columbus without 
avail. 

He perserved until finally the Queen herself pawned her jewels to 
aid him. Yet Columbus had never seen America, nor had the Queen 
any definite ideas on the subject. 

And then when he did depart, it was in a vessel that no sane man 
would embark in today. 

But Columbus, why Columbus didn't dream of a limit, what he 
was longing for was a new country and he found it. 

Who knows, if he had not persevered you might not be reading 
these lines and I might not be writing them? 

And so, we who would succeed and progress each day must learn 
that the only limitation we have in life is the one we acknowledge 
ourselves. The opinion of the other man or woman can not hinder 
our growth unless we acknowledge its power. 

The room that is wired with electricity remains unlighted until 



66 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 

the switch is turned on and even then the amount of illumination 
depends upon the number and size of the lamps. The very same 
wire conveys enough current for all the light we need, it is the way 
we use it that really counts. 

Within every life is the vital current that acts to the individual 
exactly the same as the electric light does to the home, with this 
exception, there may be trouble along the line that will cut off the 
supply of the electric light, while with the individual nothing can 
cut off or diminish his supply of light but himself. The amount that 
he gets being always determined by his desires and his ability to use 
it wisely. 

The "I am" and the "I know I can" individual has learned the 
first lesson in the use of this current. 

Finally, we repeat by recognizing our oneness with the Univer- 
sal Supply, and working firmly toward our goal without regard to 
the apparent obstacles, or fear of the future, we are daily building 
up a consciousness that is crowding out every vestige of limitation 
and thus making it possible for us to work toward the success we 
desire. 

RESUME. 

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time you 
must make it now and here." — Buxton. 

Man-made limitations to progress must be resolutely swept aside 
before the first step toward development can be made. As one writer 
has so aptly said, "The man who insists on being carried soon forgets 
how to walk and, naturally, loses the ability to use his own limbs." 

So in the use of the mind, the only success you can obtain is the 
one that you can visualize. The only hindrances to that success are 
the limitations you recognize. 

To limit yourself, your friend and your household, by the thought 
of weakness, ill-health, lack of training, lack of knowledge, or for 
any other reason that may be expressed, is merely building the wall 
of limitation higher every moment. 

To banish the feeling of limitation it is necessary to make the posi- 
tive affirmation, "I can accomplish" without explaining what stands 
in your path. 

You made your own limitations >and you may destroy them if you 
will but use your will for that purpose. 



CHAPTER X. 

SUGGESTIONS AS TO COMPANIONS AND AFFIRMA- 
TIONS. 

"To be angry with another is to punish ourselves for his fault." 

"If we could see into the heart of the man we dislike, 
We would instantly sympathize with and understand him, 
His likeness to ourselves would be so extraordinary." 

"In men whom men condemn as ill, 
I find so much of goodness still, 
In men whom men pronounce divine, 
I find so much of sin and blot, 
I hesitate to draw a line between the two 
Where God does not." 

— Joaquin Miller. 

Beginners at the work of Constructive Thinking are always won- 
derfully enthusiastic at first and especially after they have demon- 
strated what can be done by this habit of thought. 

But along comes a day when everything seems to go wrong, peo- 
ple who are breaking every law seem to succeed, and they are classed 
as utter, abject failures. 

Discouragement becomes evident. Worry wanders in and com- 
mences to upset things. Fear assumes charge, and behold ! the struc- 
ture of maybe months of work seems and is, indeed, in danger of 
tumbling unless some other force can be brought to bear. If these 
students have been practicing the law of Harmony and have learned 
the lesson of affirming their possessions all the harder when things 
go wrong, the storm soon blows over and they will be all the stronger 
for the experience. 

Otherwise, an explosion of some kind is sure to occur and after 
comparative calm has been restored one will hear as an explanation 
of this occurrence, "Really, I was getting along splendidly until Mrs. 

came along and made so many insulting remarks that I just 

flared up and told her what I thought of her." 

Now, remarks of this kind are apt to be made to people who are 
indulging in Destructive Thought Habits and who therefore agree 



68 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

that the young woman could do nothing but explode. From that 
time on, she finds excuses for all she does and finally one bright day 
she wakes up to the failures she has made and announces very con- 
vincingly, "My dear, there is nothing in that Constructive Thought, 
I tried it for months and I think I ought to know." 

"How foolish!" some of you will remark who are perhaps better 
poised or who have a better understanding of these principles. Fool- 
ish from your viewpoint and your degrees of enlightenment — Yes, but 
not from that of the young woman who is really honest in her feeling 
and who will have to keep on in this wrong thought until she is 
taught the error of her ways. 

The example quoted is only one of many that might be cited to 
prove how many people think they are right, when they are really 
entirely wrong in their practice of the same laws that have brought 
success to others when properly obeyed. 

And it is only after observing many such examples that we awaken 
to the utter absurdity of condemning anyone for anything they may 
happen to do. 

Now this state of mind does not mean we uphold them, but it 
does mean we withhold our opinion because we have no possible way 
of ascertaining the state of mind of those whom we are attempting 
to judge, and hence, we could not possibly be just, for we would be 
gauging them from our own view-point. 

To excuse ourselves because of the influence of others is the weak- 
est reason we could possibly offer. Far better would be the truth in 
admitting our own lack of will power in resisting the temptation to 
say or do that which we should not. 

Blaming some one else, is the favorite pastime of all slackers, 
shirkers and scandal-mongers. 

Acknowledging the truth is one of the finest expressions of a truly 
courageous spirit and is the first step toward forming the construc- 
tive habit of fearlessness. 

Some one once wrote, "Tell me how may I select the best asso- 
ciates while I am endeavoring to put into practice some of these 
truths? I know I am not strong enough to stand alone as yet and 
I want to do all in my power to avoid associates who may act as a 
detriment." 

And I answered, "Select all the optimistic people you can find and 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 69 

spend most of your time with them, remembering that one of the best 
definitions of an optimist is "one who is successful in remembering 
what things to forget." Absolutely refuse to associate with people 
who spend their time bemoaning their sad fate, telling how poor they 
are, how much trouble they have had, and how many people have 
slighted them, for people of that type are always in hot water and 
are not content unless they get you in their frame of mind." 

A little time after this I received another letter from the same 
woman saying, "I have moved to another town and I don't know 
anyone here. How shall I tell which people are best?" 

And I answered, "Select the people who have the corners of their 
mouths turned up, who look happy when it is pouring down rain and 
who can hang onto a strap in the street-car without looking as though 
they would like to murder the people occupying seats." 

A general rule that may be followed by all who are troubled as 
this young woman was in the beginning of her studies, is to note the 
general trend of the conversation about you. 

Once in a while one will find the wolf in sheep's clothing in the 
shape of the oily diplomat, but nine times out of ten the habit of 
conversation points to the habit of thought. 

The woman who is habitually happy and harmonious, inevitably 
enjoys a few clouds just for the pleasure it gives her to find the 
silver linings to which she also manages to impart a rosy tint. 

Women of this type are benefactors and should be regarded with 
admiration and respect, for they have conquered their minds as well 
as their tongues and act as examples to hundreds of others who have 
not yet achieved that distinction. 

Many people who are studying this subject feel that they need 
definite forms of affirmations and although they use those that have 
been suggested, they feel they would accomplish more if they could 
follow a certain prescribed form each night and morning as well as 
the claims they are making for their individual wants. 

To such I can do no better than to recommend a prescription that 
fell into my hands by chance through the reading of a dog-eared 
book found in a mountain cabin. The rats had destroyed the bind- 
ing and the pages were black with huge finger marks, but on the 
page containing the prescription was written in red ink: "This dope 



JO SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT : HABIT 

helped me clean up enough to go back to civilization and live like a 
white man. I am leaving it for the next fellow that may need it." 

Moved by the notation, I copied the "dope" and left the book for 
the next person that might come along, first, however, putting it in 
a tin box so that it might be preserved. 

The driver was interested in the procedure and he wanted a 
copy. Several others in the party expressed themselves as wanting 
to try the same prescription, so copies were handed around and the 
agreement was made that every one, whether a believer or not, should 
repeat the words even- night before retiring. Every morning before 
rising they were to repeat only the words, "I am well, strong and 
vital, I am beautiful, pure and good, I am on the road to eternal 
youth, I am opulent, happy and free. I am living in harmony with 
all my associates." 

For ten days, this rule was followed and ten happier days it would 
be hard to imagine for everyone seemed to fairly radiate the spirit of 
harmony. 

Since that time the copies of this prescription have been sent 
broadcast and every little time I hear some report of what it has 
done for some one who w^as utterly discouraged until she commenced 
to make use of it. I quote it just as I found it in the book, with the 
exception of suggestion to relax, and I advise those who have nothing 
better to make use of it, though I would suggest the addition of this 
procedure as well. 

PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH, WEALTH, AND 
HAPPINESS. 

Every night before retiring relax the body completely and reso- 
lutely banish ever}* unpleasant memory or tinge of worry, criticism, 
anger or complaint. 

Then breathe slowly and rythmically several times until you feel 
your breathing can be practiced without strain and repeat as you in- 
hale your breath, "I am Harmony, I am Harmony, I am Harmony," 
until your body fairly glows and your nerves tingle and you know 
vou are harmonious. Then repeat either mentally or aloud: 

"I am health, strength, peace, happiness and prosperity and 
everything that goes to make for good. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT JI 

"Pure, good, rich blood is flowing through my veins remov- 
ing all obstructions and bringing peace, health and harmony. 

"I am well, strong and vital. 

"I am beautiful, pure and good. 

"I am on the road to eternal youth. 

"I am opulent, happy and free. 

"I will arise in the morning with unusual energy and radi- 
ance and power of accomplishment" 

Dr. Carney who prescribes these affirmations adds, "'All I ask is 
that you do not dictate the way these things shall or may come, and 
I will guarantee them to cure anything from poverty to rheu m atism." 

RESUME. 

"To avenge one's self on a wrong done, is to enter the came 
class." 

"To avenge one's self on a wrong done, is to enter the same class.'"' 

If Harmony is constantly maintained no outside influence can 
possibly dislodge it. 

To excuse an outburst of temper, fretfulness or irritability by 
blaming some other person or complaining about environment is not 
only useless but unscientific. 

Disliking, criticizing, condemning or blaming others for their lives 
or expressions is most destructive and every word so uttered acts as 
a boomerang rebounding against the one who express such. 

To attribute to any one else the power of influencing us for evil, 
is but a weak form of evasion, for unless we yield or have the desire 
no one can possibly cause us to do anything distasteful. 

When one feels the necessity of congenial and helpful companion- 
ship, especially when beginning the work of Constructive Thinking, 
it is well to select optimistic, whole-hearted, enthusiasts who believe 
it their own power to build good futures. 

The woman habitually happy and harmonious is truly a benefactor 
to the world and gives real benefit to all of her friends, her family 
and her associates. 

Those who feel the need of definite affirmations will do well to 
use the form suggested, changing it to suit their own needs, but always 



*J2 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT*. HABIT 

using it night and morning and when ever the occasion arises to 
make a strong thought necessary. 

As a suggestion to those not accustomed to such work, I would 
recommend writing these affirmations for several days and then re- 
peating them slowly until each word has been impressed on the con- 
sciousness. Explaining your own interpretation of each sentence to 
others who are similarly interested is another excellent method of 
obtaining a decided effect — but most important of all is to keep con- 
stantly at it. 



CHAPTER XI. 
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG. 

"Our strength grows out of our weakness. The indignation 
which arms itself with secret forces does not awaken until we 
are pricked and stung and sorely assailed." — Emerson. 

"In general every evil to which we do not succumb is a bene- 
factor. As the Sandwich Islander believes that the strength 
and the valor of the enemy he has killed passes into himself 
so we gain the strength of the temptation we resist." — Emer- 
son. 

"If thou faintest in the day of adversity, thy strength is 
small." — Proverbs. 

If ever the true merit of the habit of thought is placed to a 
test, it is when things go so wrong that there is apparently no way 
to turn, and no solution to our difficulty. 

Try as we may, we can find no reasonable excuse for the hap- 
pening. Once in awhile we may be placed in the trying position 
of not being able to blame any one for our plight, and, as we think 
things over, we are forced to admit that were circumstances to be 
again arranged as they had been, we would do the same things 
all over again. 

Then, perhaps, we grow a little sorry for ourselves and we say — 
beneath our breaths it is true — but, still audibly enough so that 
we know we are saying it, "What is the use of trying. Here we 
have been just as good as could be for days and weeks and then 
this awful thing had to happen without any reason at all." 

Next, maybe we get angry or possibly we become disgusted or 
anyway we get fussy and just in proportion to our own state of 
mind so does the outlook continue to look worse and worse until 
soon dull despair settles down in great chunks of gloom. 

"What remedy?" you ask. 

There is only one to be used in cases of this description and 
that is absolute Faith in the ultimate outcome, no matter how bad 
everything looks, and the realization that nothing that happens to us 
at any time is an accident but is what we need to show of what ma- 



74 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

terial we are composed. Resistance, resentment, anger and blame 
only mean that we shall continue to have more tribulations of a 
similar nature until our lessons have been learned and we find — out 
of every evil, good will come. 

In the mental world as well as the physical any one who breaks 
a law is punished not always in the way we may recognize, but 
just so surely the punishment comes. Hence, to resist and resent 
the lesson that every incident should teach, merely means that we 
will keep living those experiences over and over again until our 
consciousness has been so developed that we may progress beyond 
trials of that description. 

One young woman who always arranged her day's work ahead 
told me that the very hardest lesson she had to learn was having 
her plans disturbed. She said she used to get so angry when she 
was not allowed to accomplish as she had planned that she would 
have a sick headache for days. 

Finally, one day, when things were just commencing to go the 
wrong way (according to her point of view) she caught sight of a 
little phrase — "If you don't like the outlook try the uplook." It 
was so very apt she laughed aloud and as she did so the Manager of 
her department passed through and asked, "What are you laughing 
at?" 

The young woman candidly explained her frame of mind and 
her method of reasoning, and the Manager said wonderingly, "And 
that is the reason you have been held back. Why you poor girl ! I 
have been watching you for months and didn't realize that your 
lack of progress was merely due to an old-maidish desire to do things 
a certain way. 

"Don't you know that the truest test of efficiency is to be able 
to act in emergencies and that the only way we can ever act at 
such a time is to become accustomed to the doing of things we 
don't like at times that are very inconvenient to us. For example, 
look at our armies. As a general rule, though, of course, we admit 
exceptions, the privates have their planning done by the officers a 
little higher who in turn depend upon the Lieutenants and Lieuten- 
ants on the Captains and so on until the Generals are the men ready 
for any emergency who know how to act when things go wrong, in- 
stead of wondering what in the world they will do next." 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 75 

The young woman listened with interest and commenced to see 
her work in a different light. 

A few days afterward the Manager handed her a slip of paper 
on which was written the words, "These Thoughts have helped me. 
Use them and pass them on to someone else." 

"This problem has been presented to me to solve. If I ig- 
nore it or run away, it merely means I shall have it to face 
again at some future day. I know that I cannot if I will es- 
cape any lesson of life, hence, I shall confidently put forth every 
effort, knowing that this very test is making me stronger and 
better and more capable of handling difficult situations. I am 
strong, fearless and certain I shall succeed in my endeavors." 

That little slip of paper proved to be the one thing needful in 
the task of learning to adjust herself to emergencies. She did not 
succeed all at once, but, slowly and surely she progressed until one 
day she was promoted to the head of her department. Then she 
became Assistant Manager and today she is half owner, for she 
married the Owner of the business. 

Another success that came, in spite of obstacles, because the 
right Thought was used, was told me the other day by a little widow. 
She was left absolutely destitute with three children to rear. She 
decided to learn a profession and after mastering the details of her 
chosen work, she was sent to a small town to take a position for a 
few weeks. Nothing was as represented, everyone was disagree- 
able, and, losing her head completely, the little widow did her work 
poorly, and blamed everyone for her unhappy plight. Utterly dis- 
gusted she was about to return to her home town when as she 
was walking back to her lodgings from work, she saw two news- 
boys fighting. The smaller one was beaten unmercifully, but strug- 
gling to his feet, he looked up and said tearfully, "I got de nerve 
alright, but, me muscle is punk. Next year this time I'll lick that 
fellow hands down. You see, Missis, it's up to me to show him 
what I can do." 

The incident impressed the discouraged little widow, and, as she 
walked on, she commenced to wonder if maybe "It was up to her to 
show the people what she could do." By morning she was convinced 
that she should do that very thing, so, instead of giving up, she did 



j6 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

stay, improved in her work and found just what profit there could 
be in a business of that size. 

In two years she has saved enough money to start in a small 
way and today she is in comfortable circumstances, her children have 
received a good education and their motto, like their mother's, reads, 
"It's up to me." 

A brilliant lawyer whose reputation is, indeed, an enviable one, 
contributed his share to the recommendation of Constructive Thought 
in telling of his first experience in a position. 

Left the sole support of a family of four, when he was sixteen 
years of age, he was obliged to leave High School before his last year 
was finished and take a position that was most objectionable, but which 
provided him with a better salary than anything else he could find 
at that time. 

For a time he fairly dreaded the appearance of morning and the 
beginning of a new day. He lost his appetite, his strength commenced 
to fail and it looked as though a serious illness were staring him in the 
face, when one day his teacher met him, looked him over shrewdly, 
and asked: "What's the matter, James?" 

The boy told him. 

"Nothing better in sight?" the teacher inquired. 

"Nothing better in town," groaned the boy. 

"Well, well," said the teacher, as long as we can't change the posi- 
tion, we will have to change the boy. Now, young man, you are going 
to like this work because if you are worth bothering with, it will de- 
velop you so that in your after life you can accomplish anything. Stop 
your self-pity. Be glad you have two legs and two arms and your 
eyesight and hearing and every morning of your life say this : 

"My work is a wonderful work and I love every part of it. Each 
day as I develop more and more I am attracting to me more har- 
moinous forces that help me to do bigger better things. 

"This day, no matter how it commences or what trials it contains, 
will be the best day I have ever spent in this work, and from it 
results are sure to come. 

"I am a successful worker and my work shall be crowned with 
Success." 

"But," objected the boy, and stopped. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT JJ 

"You were going to say it wasn't true ?" asked the teacher. 

The boy nodded. 

"Don't worry about that/' smiled the teacher. "Make it true/* 

"And," laughed the lawyer, as he told of his experience, "I did." 

"What about sickness and death?" some one asks. "Can philoso- 
phy be used there ?" 

Yes, it can, though it is hard to apply any philosophy in cases 
where death seems so cruel ; but, to use my own words would be futile 
when Emerson in his essay on Compensation describes the philosophy 
for such trials so beautifully. 

"And yet the compensations of calamity are made apparent to the 
understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutila- 
tion, a cruel disappointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, seems 
at the time unpaid loss, and unpayable. But the sure years reveal the 
deep remedial force that underlies all facts. The death of a dear 
friend, wife, brother, lover, which seemed nothing but privation, 
somewhat later assumes the role of a guide or genius; for it com- 
monly operates revolutions in our way of life, breaks up an epoch of 
infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a 
wonted occupation or a household, or style of living, and allows the 
formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character. 
It permits or constrains the formation of new acquaintances and the 
reception of new influences that prove of the first importance to the 
coming years; and the man or woman who would have remained a 
sunny garden flower, with no rooms for its roots and too much sun- 
shine for its head, by the falling of the walls and the neglect of the 
gardener is made the banian of the forest yielding shade and fruits to 
wide neighborhoods of men." 

RESUME 

"Seek not that things that happen should happen as you wish, 
but wish that things which happen to be as they are, and so 
you shall have a tranquil flow of life." — Epictetus. 

To desire improvement is the part of wisdom, but to insist on that 
improvement coming to us in just that way our intelligence dictates 
is not even good sense. 

The athlete desires strong muscles. He first has to desire strength, 
then start in his work, and then use his will constantly to keep at his 



78 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

work until the required development is reached. This process is often 
called by the college boys "punishment," for it means going without 
certain sorts of food, keeping regular hours and working despite the 
aching and tired muscles. 

The student of Constructive Thinking should realize that in de- 
veloping mental muscles there must be many hours of what may be 
called punishment, time must be spent in getting over what seems 
like a disappointment, and a constant effort made to find the good in 
everything, no matter how difficult the condition. 

Many times the entire method of living must be changed. Often 
it means giving up a home, or a sweetheart, or it may even mean 
losing a position or perhaps suffering a loss of money, but always the 
lesson is there, the reward will come if we can but have the strength 
to forge ahead with faith in the future and the knowledge that "God's 
in his heaven ; all's well with the world." 



CHAPTER XII. 

LETTING GO. 

"Serene I fold my hands and wait, 
Nor care for wind nor tide nor sea, 
I rave no more 'gainst tide and fate, 
For lo! my own shall come to me." 
* * * * * 

"The stars come nightly to the sky, 
The tidal wave unto the sea, 
Nor time nor space nor deep nor high, 
Can keep my own away from me." 

— John Buroughs. 

Quite as necessary as the cultivation of the right desire are the 
qualities of calm resolution and patience. 

To think I am Success, I am Health and I am Harmony is but the 
beginning. These thoughts must be made so much a part of the indi- 
vidual that the thoughts, "I wonder when I shall get what I want," or 
"I am afraid I am not progressing as I should," or, "Dear me, there is 
some one else getting ahead of me," or, "I work from morning till 
night and see no results," should never have an opportunity for even 
an entering wedge in the mind. 

Even to hold the right thought but hold it under strain retards the 
fulfillment of desire. 

The old fable of the monkey who was so ambitious to get all of 
the preserves out of the jar that he absolutely refused to let go of 
even a few of them, and was then compelled to yield both jar and pre- 
serves to some one else, is a very good illustration of the man or 
woman who is unwilling to let go of the small things so that they 
may get the big ones. 

No better example of the trait can be found than among those who 
are extremely parsimonious and who hang on to their money to the ex^ 
tent of paying their bills at the last possible moment of grace, and then 
paying them unwillingly, holding back money that is due others, refus- 
ing to extend a helping hand to any one, and always desiring more 
money as their ideal of perfect happiness. 



80 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

People of this type forget the mandate "Give and ye shall re- 
ceive," and they need to be reminded constantly of the modern ex- 
pression, "Nothing can be placed in the closed hand." 

Selfishness of this description may result in hoarding money, but 
the hoarders are so poor in spirit that they suffer all the pangs of 
poverty every time they are obliged to part with one cent, and all be- 
cause they have never learned the lesson of "letting go." 

"Bottling up one's wrath" is another form of tenseness very com- 
monly observed. 

While guests are present, Sister is on her good behavior, Brother 
is angelic, and Mother is sweetly solicitous for the welfare of all. 

The moment the door is closed on the visitors the storm breaks 
with all the more severity because of the repression and the results of 
the outburst are often shown for weeks in the bitter feeling that ex- 
ists, while the very atmosphere is tense. 

"Getting one's feelings hurt" on every possible occasion, and walk- 
ing about with the sad expression of a martyr is another very usual 
expression of tenseness, for instead of relieving the situation by an 
explanation the grieved ones take a positive melancholy pleasure in 
keeping their reasons to themselves and in making a very obvious 
effort to be distantly nice to the offenders, or as one bright woman 
expressed it, being so "nasty nice" as to make everyone uncomfortable. 

Anxiety to get a certain amount of work done in a certain time 
produces another form of tenseness that tires the worker twice as 
much as working without an idea of time limit. 

An intense desire to satisfy others with work performed is another 
commonly observed trait and one that often induces the anxious one 
to make the very worst sort of an impression. 

Now, "to desire" and "to let go" may seem contradictory, so be- 
fore I go further, let us see that to desire is the beginning, the affirm- 
ation, "I am" or "I have" starts the seed growing, and anxiety or 
tenseness is therefore a contradiction to the affirmation and can do 
nothing but retard the growth. 

A very simple explanation and one that all can understand and 
apply, is that the art of letting go merely means learning how to live 
without strain, worry or forebodings of trouble. 

It means sitting calmly without clinching the hands when attend- 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 8 1 

ing a movie, taking a ride in an automobile, the elevator or the street 
car. 

It means sitting back comfortably in the chair instead of perched 
on the edge as though about to fly. 

It means the ability to breathe rhythmically and affirm harmony 
no matter what that disturbance seems to be. 

It means spending the necessary time in shopping without acting 
as though at a bargain sale in competition with people who intended 
to take away every desirable article. 

It means letting the day's work take care of itself whether it be 
house-cleaning time, moving, or taking the inventory and going to 
bed each night feeling as did Good King Hassan who said, "When 
anything went wrong or doubt assailed, Tomorrow, friend, will bring 
another day, and in that faith he slept and so prevailed." 

It means hearing the noise made by children in the neighborhood 
or in the home without allowing every nerve in the body to get on edge 
and a feeling of intolerance to enter the heart. 

In short, it means tolerance of everything and everybody including 
one's self. 

Very few people who read these lines care to admit they are tense, 
but a few observations will convince them that they really have been 
exerting a lot of energy unconsciously in this manner every day, and 
that by watching themselves they can make relaxation just as auto- 
matic as the tense feeling has been in the past. 

A very excellent test of tenseness ma}' be tried by looking into the 
mirror occasionally. If the eyes have a tired expression, the jaws 
are set and the lips firmly closed, that individual is tense. If the 
corners of the mouth droop and there is a frown to be seen, the tense- 
ness is occasioned by discontent or unhappiness. If the face is deep- 
ly and prematurely lined, the tenseness is occasioned by nervousness. 

Now if one will take the time in making the facial expression 
convey the idea of repose, and will do this several times a day at the 
same time working with the mind too, an improvement will be mani- 
fest in a very short time. 

Occasionally, one will find the face serene, but the hands will show 
the tense condition for they will be found tightly clenched instead of 
lying open and relaxed, or the fingers will tap on the table. 

And once in a while one will see people who have so conquered 



82 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

their expression that not a trace of tenseness is shown excepting in a 
certain irritability of manner or impatience unless they are waited 
upon at once and every attention showered upon them. 

Their invariable expression is, "Remember, I can't be kept wait- 
ing." Just why these people are the only ones in the world immune 
from the general law that every one must wait some times, no one 
seems to know, but at any rate, they feel that is their privilege. 

People of this type are furious if their meals are late or if any 
one misses an appointment. They get down to the train ahead of 
time, and hop off the train ahead of the other passengers, so that they 
may get the first cab. 

On their arrival anywhere, whether in the city or country, at the 
home of a friend or in a hotel, nothing is exactly what they expected 
or wanted. 

The bed is different, food isn't seasoned the same, there is either 
not enough entertainment or too much, while the people, well, of 
course, "other people are decidedly queer." 

To let people of this type go through life making others uncom- 
fortable is a mistake for they should learn in common with all others 
who are tense, the law referred to in other sections — "To make our 
nervous system our ally and not our enemy we must make automatic 
and habitual as many useful actions as we can." 

And in order to do this, we must learn the method of "letting go" 
of every disturbing thought the moment it appears, instead of wel- 
coming it and giving it space in our minds. 

We must take things as they happen and make the best of them, 
knowing that if everything happened just as we wanted it to do, some 
one else might suffer some discomfort, so we can't expect to have our 
way all of the time. 

Above all, let us take the time at least once or twice during the 
day to "let go" of everything — care, responsibility or anxiety, relax 
every muscle and feel that we are drawing in a fresh supply of en- 
ergy from the always full reservoir of Abundant Supply. 

Every night let us practice the same thing, remembering as we do 
so, that we can make the hours of rest before us again as valuable if 
we again "let go" of every disturbing memory of any kind, and after 
relaxing completely fill our minds and our hearts and our bodies with 
Love, Harmony and Peace from the same Universal Supply that is 
always ready to give us what we ask for and need. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 83 

RESUME. 

To hold on to one's resolution and still let go of everything that 
seems like exertion sounds a bit inconsistent, but it isn't. 

The moment a resolution is made and the will has been asserted, it 
is like a seed planted in the ground that is growing for sometime be- 
fore the tiny green tendrils may be observed. 

Anxiety as to the outcome of the desire, worry as to how obstacles 
are to be overcome, the tenseness of expecting a speedy demonstra- 
tion, anger at others, recitals of wrongs that have been done, injured 
feelings, are all conditions of mind that retard growth. 

Hence, the necessity of letting go completely and just floating 
about in a sea of content, feeling that "whatever is, is right." 

When all the plans have been upset and everything has seemed to 
go dead wrong and nothing is as planned, again "just let go." In- 
stead of struggling till you get right out in the stream where your 
head will be bumped and your muscles strained, float along until you 
see a good safe landing place, then drift toward it, and rested and re- 
freshed you will be ready for whatever may come up. 

One of the hardest things to let go, and yet it should be one of the 
easiest, is the memory of a wrong or a hurt. Drop these memories 
that only sear the brain softly and surely in the sea of forgetfulness, 
and as you let them go, realize that you are casting off the last chain 
that has hound you to an unhappy past. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
PRACTICAL CONCENTRATION. 

"Thought is a magnet and the longed for pleasure, 
Or boon or aim or object is the steel, 
And its attainment hangs but on the measure, 
Of what the soul can feel." 

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

"The world wants people who make good, not those who make 
good excuses. 

To write about Constructive Thought Habits without mentioning 
Concentration would make the subject incomplete, for the word is 
inseparably connected with every system of thought. 

Strangely enough, however, to many people Concentration means 
a spooky sort of performance, a getting away from every one and 
everything, a sitting with the eyes closed or else fixing them on a spot 
on the wall, or a picture, or a motto, and so the very thought of the 
procedure impresses the beginner as hingeing on the supernatural. 

To others Concentration means a form of willing some one else to 
do as the person who is concentrating desires. 

Now, it is true that many people do use these procedures, but they 
are not the ones recommended by the average teacher of Constructive 
Thinking, while to use your will to compel any one to do anything is 
quite as dishonorable as to put your hand in that other person's pocket 
and take away his money. 

To sit alone in a quiet room free from any disturbing element with 
the mind fixed on some one of the truths taught in Constructive 
Thinking is sometimes called "Going into the Silence." 

For those who have mastered their minds and who can keep a pos- 
itive thought uppermost all of the time the process may be very excel- 
lent, but to the beginner it is not only wearisome, but often dangerous, 
for unless very careful they may get into the destructive vibrations of 
other minds by endeavoring to get into a receptive condition. 

Many people, too, indulge in what they term "meditation," think- 
ing they are drinking in great truths, but in reality they are indulging 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 85 

in nothing more than aimless day dreaming, a process that brings 
them nothing, but fritters away their energies. 

Concentration is really nothing but fixing the conscious attention 
intently on a subject. It is practiced every day and most of the time 
by everyone who is engaged in any occupation, and it may be prac- 
ticed any time, any place, by anybody. 

To apply Concentration to the process of learning how to Think 
Constructively, simply means that one thinks intently, frequently and 
without intermission of the things they want, rather than on the things 
they don't want. 

The conversation of any individual shows you what he is concen- 
trating upon although he may not know it. If he tells you of what a 
hard life he has had and how many troubles he has experienced and 
how hard it is for a young man to get ahead, he is concentrating on 
trouble, not success, and he will accumulate more trouble as the days 
go by. 

The business man who sighs when he sees that the day's receipts 
are low and who murmurs, "Business is bad and I am losing money," 
is doing the same thing, though he does not realize it. 

The wife who sees all of her husband's faults and who dwells on 
them constantly "in order to help him," is merely making them deeper 
and more obvious. 

The employer who finds fault with his employees constantly, is 
concentrating on poor service. 

The woman who talks economy and hard times is concentrating 
on lack. 

The ugly girl who says, "I am certainly the homeliest girl in the 
world" is concentrating on being unattractive. 

The fact is, half the world seems to use their time and their ener- 
gies concentrating on all that they do not want, instead of using their 
time for what they do want. 

Often times one will hear this expression ; "There is no use in 
talking, I cannot concentrate." 

You look at the speaker in amazement. He is clothed, uses good 
English, and has been able to find his way to your office. Then it 
occurs to you that the poor fellow does not realize that conscious at- 
tention to any act is concentration, and that without possessing this 
quality, he could never have mastered his primer, learned how to 



86 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

count, dressed himself, passed through grammar school or have 
learned how to find his way to the various places of business. 

What is bothering him is the task of concentrating on a single 
thought, such as "God is love," "Harmony is within me," or "I am 
Health." For the moment after he has completed the sentence his 
mind has flitted to something else and so it keeps on flitting until he 
is convinced that he is indeed a hopeless case. 

That is where his knowledge of the fact that "The nervous system 
grows in the mode to which it has been exercised," helps him to keep 
at the work of trying not once but again and again until the nerve 
cells become accustomed to the practice. Each day he will see that 
the work is less difficult until finally he is able at will to thrust an un- 
pleasing or discordant thought out of his mind and fill its place with a 
helpful one. 

Knowing the value of habitual thought the student of Concentra- 
tion as a necessary part of Constructive Thought, never allows a day 
to pass without reading some helpful passage, committing something 
that is inspiring to memory, or in some way working out a demon- 
stration of the great laws he is studying. 

It may be nothing more important than controlling his temper at 
a time when he would have ordinarily lost it, or of keeping back words 
of criticism or blame that he would under other conditions have 
uttered, he can see the value of the training and in addition to mak- 
ing a mental record of the victory he remembers that "Every mole- 
cule among the nerve cells is registering the result," and so he con- 
centrates his mind on greater strength and a more perfect exhibition 
of harmony. 

Occasionally one finds people who have very excellent minds, 
splendid memories and much will who still admit that the matter of 
concentrating on an abstract thought seems to them useless, and they 
do not seem able to persuade themselves out of that belief. 

For such people it is well until their habit of concentration at 
will has been developed, to make it a rule to memorize inspiring 
passages and repeat them frequently. 

Many students have told me that the repetition of this one verse 
has invariably helped them when they found their minds dwelling on 
the wrong phases of life: 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 87 

"Out of the night that covers me 
Black as the pit from pole to pole, 
I thank what ever gods may be 
For my unconquerable soul." 

Others have suggested the advisability of a process they term "con- 
vincing themselves" by making a statement or an affirmation, asking 
the question "Why" and then answering the question. 

All this work is to be written at first and later when more strength 
is acquired it may be done mentally. I give the statements and 
answers given me by a man who used this method to begin with, and 
who has by means of Constructive Thinking risen from comparative 
poverty to affluence and a position of great influence. 

Reared under peculiar religious influences that have always de- 
pressed him he said that at first the affirmation "I am all powerful" 
seemed sacrilegious and so he used this way to prove it to himself. 
EXAMPLE OF CONCENTRATED PRACTICE. 

"I am one with Universal Spirit." 

Why? 

"Because in the beginning God created heaven and earth and all 
there is thereon, hence Spirit must be manifest in everything." 

"I am Health, Harmony and Abundance." 

Why? 

"Because Spirit is Harmony, in proportion to my recognition of 
my oneness with Spirit I am harmonious. 

Because Spirit knows no limitation, in proportion to my recogni- 
tion of my oneness with Spirit I shall manifest Abundance." 

"I am successful in all my undertakings." 

Why? 

Because I have such consciousness of my oneness with Spirit that 
no circumstance can stand in the way of my ultimate Success, no 
matter if there may be a seeming delay or disappointment. 

Now it is true that these simple measures may not meet with the 
approval of those who have progressed to greater heights, but for the 
beginners who need crutches until they are able to walk alone, or for 
those who feel that writing statements out fully means a great help, 
these exercises have proved wonderfully beneficial. They can hurt no 
one, and they have helped so many, that their efficacy has been 
proved. 



88 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

RESUME. 

Concentration merely means thinking intently of a subject. 

To speak without thinking is impossible. Consequently the speech 
of our associates shows us beyond a doubt just what use they are 
making of their thoughts. 

The woman who thinks success and abundance can not possibly 
talk lack or failure. 

The woman who thinks love can not talk hate. 

The woman who is true to her friends can not talk of their faults. 

The man who thinks of business success has no time to worry 
about competition. 

The man who thinks health can not talk about that last sick spell 
when ever the occasion arises. 

The man who thinks pure thoughts cannot express evil ones. 

To concentrate successfully it is merely necessary to analyze one's 
habit of thought, then weed out everything that is objectionable, 
keeping at that process until finally by constant use of the will, the 
mind is trained to dwell only on that which is productive of good. 

A half hour's conversation with anyone will usually betray their 
real method of concentration and the reason why they have never 
made more convincing demonstrations. 

If you would be what you desire, think it, will it, persevere in it, 
and just as surely you will accomplish it. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MAKING USEFUL HABITS AUTOMATIC. 

"To make our nervous system our ally, we must make auto- 
matic and habitual as many useful actions as we can." — James. 

"We first make our habits and then our habits make us." 

Dr. Maudsley has remarked, "If a habit becomes no easier after 
having been done several times, so that each time the thing is done 
the entire consciousness needs to be directed toward it, then a man 
might easily spend a whole day dressing and undressing himself and 
he would be as exhausted after this effort, as when a child he tried 
the same thing. 

For, while automatic acts are accomplished with comparatively 
little weariness, the conscious efforts of the will soon produce ex- 
haustion. 

A spinal cord without a memory would therefore be merely an 
idiotic spinal cord. 

Indeed, it is absolutely impossible for us to realize how much we 
owe to automatic action until we note how disease or some accident 
has impaired some of the bodily functions. 

Then, sitting up in bed becomes a luxury. To breathe without 
pain is a heavenly experience, and when one becomes able to turn 
on one side and stretch the feet out full length, there is a positive 
feeling of gratitude. 

Should the illness be prolonged, or should anything preclude a 
person from returning to a wonted exercise or a bit of work, how 
wearisome the first few days are when one does get back. In fact, 
it is almost like learning all over again for in the meantime the nerv- 
ous system has grown rusty, by lack of exercise, and needs once 
more to be put into the harness. And in a few days, all of a sudden 
just when one least expects it, the old time skill returns and affairs 
move on as they did before. 

Musicians know they must keep in constant practice or suffer 
the consequences. Athletes, who are out of training never attempt 
any great feat of strength. Mechanics noted for accurate and speedy 
records, can only keep their reputation by keeping constantly at work. 



90 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

After a time, all of these acts become so automatic that the per- 
formers go through the motions automatically. 

Even in everyday life we see many evidences of this automatic 
action. 

Grandma's glasses frequently are found resting comfortably on 
her head just after she has persuaded the entire family to conduct 
a search for them. Father's keys are the bane of many a household 
for they are invariably lost and always found just where he put them. 
Rings, well, rings are always being removed and left in the trains, 
or in the hotel bath room and then are not missed for hours after- 
wards. 

Indeed, the average woman would never be able to tell how 
she commences to dress in the morning, which articles are picked up 
first and yet nine times out of ten they go through the same motions 
mechanically, in getting out of the same side of the bed, sitting in the 
same chair, arranging the hair, powdering the face, selecting a hand- 
kerchief and making ready for the street. 

Knitting, too, is one of the automatic acts, for after it is started 
it seems fairly to do itself, though at first close attention is necessary 
to see that the needles are held properly and that the stitches stay 
where they are put. 

Habit, then we see, whether conscious or automatic, is one of the 
most tremendous forces of life, in fact, we can truthfully call it the 
tremendous force in life. 

It is habit that makes us dislike anything that takes us away 
from our wonted paths of thought or work, that makes us resist any 
change or suggestion of doing things a different way, that makes us 
fussy, fretful, disagreeable, sarcastic, kind, agreeable, sympathetic 
and amenable to suggestions. It makes us cowards or heroes self 
assertive or timid self-reliant or timid, failures or successes. 

Consequently, the great thing in all of our education is to adopt 
the suggestion given by William James to "make our nervous sys- 
tem our ally and not our enemy." 

We should hand over to the custodian of the automatic depart- 
ment many of the details of our daily life. 

For, as our writer remarks, "There is no more depressing or un- 
interesting human being than he who makes a deliberate act of the 
lighting of a cigar, the opening of the morning paper, the exact 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 91 

minute of rising and retiring and the beginning of every bit of 
work. 

People of this type usually accomplish nothing but the small 
details and never seem to have decision enough to do the big things. 
Hence, the importance of starting the daily duties in such a manner 
that they almost carry themselves along and leave the mind free to 
develop on other lines. 

Should you desire to accquire a new habit, waste no time in weep- 
ing over your past loss of time or what you have not done, but fix 
the idea firmly in your mind and then get to work with all the initia- 
tive possible. 

The woman who weeps, "I have never been able to adapt myself 
to circumstances," will not only be apt to weep oftener and longer as 
the years go by, but she will also never be able to understand why she 
does not make a success of her life. 

To develop means to find what habits are necessary for success 
and then go at the work systematically, bracing up the resolution 
with every prop that can be found, never speaking or thinking of old 
conditions, but instead, living in the immediate present with its new 
viewpoint. 

Another excellent plan is to so arrange that for days ahead every- 
thing will be so planned, that there will be no opportunity for relapsing 
into old habits and in that way enough momentum may be gathered 
to keep on the path long enough to develop strength sufficient to re- 
sist the temptation to relapse when it does come. 

Perhaps the greatest drawback to the formation of really Con- 
structive habits comes because all people naturally seem to object to 
routine. 

They desire to improve. Yes, indeed, but they don't care to have 
that improvement involve them in a lot of study or work or mental 
exercise, especially if that work is to be kept up. 

Yet the man or woman who really progresses in building Tought 
Habits, should realize right at the beginning that no matter how busy 
any day is, there is always an opportunity for a few minutes of read- 
ing or study or meditation on some excellent passages you have read. 

If you are truly so crowded for time that you can not get your 
hands on a book for an entire day, an occurrence that, I am positive, is 



92 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

very seldom the case, call to mind the various quotations that have 
helped you and repeat them not once but several times. 

When you feel inclined to be weary or nervous or irritable because 
the demands on your time and patience have been greater than you 
anticipated, bear in mind that every such thought shuts off the flow of 
strength from the Universal supply, so instead of working tensely, 
just relax and feel as you work you are being slowly recharged with 
motive power. 

Make it a rule to do your work easily and you will find that no 
matter how long the hours may be, if you have avoided friction dur- 
ing the day, you will be able to look forward with pleasurable antici- 
pation to an evening spent in some entirely different way. 

Avoid listening to the commiserations of your family or your 
friends, because through circumstances you may spend more hours 
in your occupation than does someone else. Take the constructive 
way and those hours will count for you in increased skill. 

Become acquainted with the best authors. Read them not once, 
but again and again. No matter if your book shelf is limited at this 
time, it will have room for Emerson, Browning, Epictetus and Mar- 
cus Aurelius. 

Then as you progress, add to this list until finally you will find 
you are enjoying the very best literature and forming your own 
style of expression by what you have read. 

Do not, however, in your enthusiasm at being able to develop 
your own brain try to force your opinion or your method on others, 
or enter into arguments with them. 

If any one asks and needs your help, give it gladly and willingly. 
Otherwise, it is better to so perfect yourself that you will be an ex- 
ample others will be glad to follow. 

Just bear in mind Constructive Thinking is not a religion nor 
does it interfere with any religion or creed. It is merely a form of 
mental exercise that will show its best results in mental and physical 
improvement. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE INTERESTING TASK THAT IS NEVER COMPLETED. 

Put all the enthusiasm of which you are capable in the acquir- 
ing of your new habits and in this way you will sweep many of 
the obstacles from your path. 

"To train yourself for prompt action in emergencies, make an 
effort to do some gratuitous work every day or two in the 
shape of some task you ordinarily dislike. Persevere until 
you have attained some degree of proficiency and you will find 
in time of strain you will rise to the occasion. 

"Never suffer an exception to occur in the practice of a new 
habit until it is securely rooted in your life. Continuity in 
training is the great means of making the nervous system act 
infallibly right." — James. 

No exception to new plans for improvement should be allowed 
until the better habits have become fully established in your life. 
Strength comes from temptation resisted, not from agreeing just for 
the sake of good fellowship "not to count this time." 

Constant keeping at it, is the only method that will keep the nerv- 
ous system growing in the right direction and repairing old errors. 

Another important aid is to seize the first possible opportunity for 
action on a new resolution. 

If the road to the lower regions is as the good people say, paved 
with good intentions, the sign-post on that road surely has on it in 
large letters the words, SOME-TIME BOULEVARD. 

That letter we intended writing, that present we promised to buy, 
the flowers we fully intended to send, the book that would have in- 
terested some one so much, all of them are stranded on "Some-Time 
Boulevard" on the road of "Good Intentions." 

Those who affably agree "why certainly you are right and some- 
time we will try it," belong to the club of procrastinators and will 
conduct every enterprise in life after the same plan, or otherwise 
the answer would come loud and strong, "Certainly, today, this min- 
ute I will begin." 



94 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT 

To wait until the time is ripe and everything ready and easy for 
a certain mode to be practiced means to wait forever. The per- 
fectly convenient day will never arrive for it has never been found 
in any age in any country. 

Mills says, "A character is a perfectly fashioned will." 

By this is meant the ability and desire to act in a firm, prompt, 
efficient manner in any of the emergencies of life. 

This tendency to act, however, only produces an effect when the 
action really occurs. 

And it is a positive fact that every time one allows a good reso- 
lution to die without bearing the fruit of action, a detrimental effect 
has been produced for that path will be just so much easier to fol- 
low another time. 

"He meant well," or the "girl who always intended to do the 
right thing," are usually the members of the family that seem to be in 
the most trouble for their good emotions are invariably expended in 
promises rather than performance. 

Thus we see the necessity for cultivating the will and using it to 
manifest in actions the results of Constructive Thinking, remember- 
ing as we do, that any act oft repeated, forms a habit, and that habit 
allowed, steadily gathers strength. 

At first this habit may be like a spider's web made of gossamer 
thread easily broken through and destroyed, but if persisted in, it be- 
comes as chains of iron, proving the truth of the adage — "the chains 
of habit are usually too weak to be felt until they are too strong to 
be broken." 

It is for this reason that one of the great specialists in nervous 
disorders has made it a rule that in his own family and among his 
immediate friends each one is to do every day or at least every 
two or three days something that is quite distasteful. As soon as 
the task has been finished something else is selected, the more dis- 
tasteful and more difficult it is, the greater the glory. 

He gives as a reason the fact that each one who followed this 
plan found as a result that in times of emergency or strain, they were 
able to fill in an emergency with an ease not possible to one who had 
failed to gain the experience of doing disagreeable tasks well. 

Thus the man or woman who has strength enough to practice daily 
concentrated attention, energetic effort and self-denial, will pass 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 95 

safely through the very same experiences that have proved fatal to 
others. 

So though we look at Success as being able to do what one wants 
to do when one cares to do it, we may look at Perfection as being 
able to do what one does not care to do as well as though it were 
an agreeable task. 

And, we by a recognition of these truths may not only help our- 
selves, but will by this very knowledge often help others to escape 
the earthly hells they would otherwise be building toward daily, by 
growing the wrong habits and fashioning their characters in the wrong 
way. 

The sooner we realize that we are nothing but walking, talking, 
animated bundles of habits, the more heed will we give to the mechan- 
ism that produces those habits and the stronger will be our desire to 
care for that mechanism in the way that will show the best effects. 

The sooner we learn that we alone can remedy what is wrong in 
our lives, our homes, or our business, the sooner we shall learn that, 
we must keep faithfully busy every hour in the day with a mind 
alert to note every tendency to slip into faults of various kinds. 

The sooner we find that knowledge must be paid for by actual 
mental exertion and that in order to be well informed we must keep 
at our work constantly even though it means utilizing but a few 
moments each day, the sooner we shall awaken to find ourselves 
among the competent ones of this generation. 

It is not alone sufficient to accept the truth of Constructive Think- 
ing and practice Thought Building until a certain degree of profi- 
ciency has been attained. 

This work is never finished. It must be kept at constantly, not 
only by cultivating the will and studying great truths as they have 
been given us by the great minds of the world, but by living in the 
atmosphere that makes for Harmony, Peace and Power. 

When circumstances arise that seem to prevent reading or study- 
ing, it is well to repeat to yourself inspiring verses or selections that 
you have found helpful and that have an uplifting effect. Some- 
times when things seem to be just a bit more depressing than you 
really fancy, it is well to write out the words, thus impressing them 
even more firmly on your mind. 

Another wonderful aid in development is the practice of giving 



g6 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

to somebody every day an uplifting thought, a cheerful smile, or a 
hearty hand-shake, remembering — 

"If any little word of ours can make one life the brighter, 
If any little song of ours can make one heart the lighter, 
God help us speak that little word, and take our bit of singing, 
And drop it in some lonely vale and set the echoes ringing." 

The man or woman who has been sufficiently inspired to try this 
method of thinking and who works consistently and with enthusi- 
asm is sure to see results in the daily life, though of course some 
few tribulations will occur too, owing to the causes set in force before 
this work was taken up. 

Therefore, instead of becoming discouraged "when everything 
goes dead wrong," it is well to remember that one is only paying up 
for past carelessness and that the greater the fortitude with which 
this trial is borne, the less danger there is of setting in force more 
causes that will be reaped in the future. 

As Emerson has so truly written, "Always pay ; for first or last you 
must pay your entire debt. Persons and events may stand between 
you and justice but it is only a postponement. * * * In the order 
of the universe we cannot render benefits to those from whom we 
receive them or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be 
rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody. 
Beware of too much good staying in your hand. It will fast corrupt 
and worm worms. Pay it quickly in some sort." 

And when we see some one suffering all sorts of tribulations we 
shall know that person is paying the penalty for conscious or uncon- 
scious disobedience of the great law, and will continue to suffer 
until the necessary lessons have been learned. 

Thus, although we work and think constructively we neither 
expect nor demand that every day shall bring us nothing but hap- 
piness and harmony. We may desire it, yes ! And we know that 
our Constructive Thinking will help us bring Harmony out of dis- 
cord; but we know deep down in our hearts, that just as our todays 
are making our tomorrows, so too in our todays we are paying for 
our yesterdays, and in that knowledge we put forth even a greater 
effort to make our tomorrows what they should be in every detail. 

And, in presenting to others a new suggestion or a new plan for 
work or even a request we shall know better than to become impa- 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 97 

tient because they do not get our ideas readily, or if they do get them, 
do not agree quickly. We shall not attempt to brow-beat or force 
them to take this new path, but instead will explain carefully and 
patiently and often if need be, what this change means, and what 
may be accomplished, even though at first it may seem difficult be- 
cause the brain cells need to be trained into any new form of 
exercise. Thus we may fan the desire for accomplishment into a real 
fire of determination to do just what we have suggested, and the re- 
sults accomplished by this union of mental and physical action will 
be far better than could be obtained by any other method. 

Better still, owing to our understanding of the subject we shall 
be able to hold before others the inspiring picture of that faithful 
working partner, the Nervous System, with its wonderful reparative 
and reproductive powers, ready, willing and sure to register every 
thought, every act, every emotion in the cerebrum; a System that 
registers the secret thoughts just as surely as those that are expressed 
in words ; a system waiting to receive our orders as to whether 
it is to work willingly for health, happiness, abundance and harmony, 
or just as willingly for poverty, sickness and failure, according to 
our own will in creating thoughts and growing habits that will benefit 
rather than injure; a system whose method of work can not be bet- 
ter described than by these lines: 

"It knows not wrath nor pardon, utter true its measures meet, 

its faultless balance weighs, 
Time is as naught. Tomorrow will it judge or after many 

many days. 

"Such is the law that moves to righteousness, which none of 
us can turn aside or stay, 

The heart of love it is. The end of it, is Peace and Consum- 
mation sweet — Obey." 

— Arnold. 

RESUME. 

Allow no exception to your resolutions of working for improve- 
ment. 

Act on every good resolution at the first opportunity. Otherwise 
the habit of procrastination, by which the individual contents him- 
self with thinking not doing, will be made even more pronounced. 



98 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

So cultivate the Will that the Constructive Thought may be man- 
ifest in every Action. 

Make it a rule to resolutely perform some disagreeable or dis- 
tasteful task every few days thus developing the ability to act in any 
emergency in life that may occur. The person who does just what he 
pleases is successful. He who does what is best for him and masters 
the distasteful approaches nearer to Perfection. 

The work of Constructive Thought Building is never finished 
but must be practiced hourly, studied daily and every effort made, 
to live in the atmosphere of Harmony , Peace and Power. 

Disagreeable experiences that occur from time to time even af- 
ter one has mastered many of these laws are merely the results of 
conscious or unconscious breaking of the law in other years. Our 
attitude toward these occurrences will determine our future. 

Our understanding of the changes required to alter the estab- 
lished thought habits of others induces us to persevere in our un- 
dertakings for we know that before action may be performed the 
brain cells must first be exercised in the new method of thinking. 

Always we shall hold before us the picture of our faithful part- 
ner — the Nervous System — a System that registers methodically and 
surely both the spoken and the unspoken thought, willing and ready 
to work with us for Health, Harmony and Success or just as will- 
ing for Doubt, Despair and Failure, depending entirely upon our own 
Will, Thought-Habits and Actions. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
CULTIVATING THE WILL TO DO 

"He who has a firm will molds the world to himself." — Goethe. 
"Great souls have wills. Feeble ones have wishes." — Chinese 
Proverb. 

"To bring the best human qualities to perfection, to fill them 
with the sweet juices of courtesy and charity, prosperity 
is required, or at any rate a moderate amount of it, just as 
sunshine is required for the ripening of peaches. To secure 
this condition but one thing is necessary — a will — for where 
that is found the way will be plain." — Anon. 

Many difficult and complicated treatises have been written on the 
subject of the will, and as a consequence many an earnest seeker 
for information staggering under the load of directions of "what 
not to do" has retired into his shell with a very strong feeling that 
there is no use in making the attempt unless every other form of 
work may be put aside until this tremendous task has been ac- 
complished. 

In reality, cultivating the will is one of the simplest of mental 
exercises ever practiced by anybody, and one trial made as directed 
will be enough to stimulate to further endeavors. 

It merely means the use of calm determination and the use of 
the words "I will" instead of "I wish," followed by the descrip- 
tion of what one desires to use the will upon, with the belief that 
this announcement must be followed by success. 

Whenever possible the experiments should be made after a light 
evening meal and just before going to sleep. Then as proficiency 
is attained, the results may be obtained at any time by quietly going 
over in one's mind the things to be accomplished. 

For example, supposing tomorrow has in store some distasteful 
or difficult task or perhaps some people have proved very trying 
and they are to return tomorrow, and that today has been full to the 
brim of annoyances. 

Remembering that "a smooth sea never made a skillful mariner," 
sit down quietly and analyze the day, finding wherein you failed to 



IOO SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

show self-control, patience and poise. At first you may need to 
say to yourself, "I will waste no time in regret, recrimination or 
thoughts of getting even. I will forget every feeling of injury or 
hurt and I will fill my brain and soul and body with the thoughts 
of courage that will make me equal to any task, and Harmony that 
will make me impervious to any disturbance." 

The more positive method is not to mention the disturbance and 
merely affirm your possession of Courage and Harmony. 

At any rate, however, after you have affirmed Harmony, un- 
til you feel that every portion of your brain has been bathed in its 
rays say to yourself with quiet determination and conviction "I will 
myself to be absolutely harmonious tomorrow no matter what hap- 
pens," and continue this exercise until you fall to sleep. 

Supposing that tomorrow is not quite perfect. Rarely are our 
first efforts productive of all we desire. Still at night you will 
find, on continuing your self-analysis that you really fared better 
than the day before, so again sweep out every thought with the 
broom of Courage, thus making room for more Harmony and again 
as you go to sleep repeat "I will myself to be absolutely harmoni- 
ous tomorrow no matter what happens." Now every time this as- 
sertion must be made with due regard to its importance, not care- 
lessly as though it were a matter of form. 

Then after a test or two have proved the fact that the will can, 
and does control the thought world and that by your self analysis 
you may detect and weed out your weak qualities you may continue 
this process indefinitely by calmly, firmly and faithfully willing your- 
self each night to be just what you desire the next day. 

You may wish to gain the main points from a lecture or a les- 
son, retain what you may see or hear, feel cheerful, happy, brave, 
work through the day without feeling exhausted, be ready for any 
emergency, get the most out of your studies, avoid irritability, re- 
press your appetite to what you need, rather than what you like, 
in short no matter what you may desire to accomplish you may, 
by constant practice produce a really profitable day. 

This form of willing should, too, go hand in hand with any 
other work you may be doing, for of course, you desire to progress, 
so this will therefore be one of the best methods to employ. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT IOI 

It may be employed with great success for health, for self-an- 
alysis will enable you to detect your own misdeeds and thus enable 
you not to repeat them, while your will properly employed will en- 
able you to control nearly every functional trouble and make less 
distressing many of the organic conditions. 

One young woman who had been studying for years and who 
made her affirmations faithfully, still had the custom of going to 
bed with a half-expressed dread of the next day and her "irritable 
boss," as she expressed it. 

Many times she would succumb to a nervous headache after one 
of his outbreaks and it took a long time for her to see or admit, 
that his ungovernable temper was not responsible for her condition. 
Finally she determined to cultivate her will and full of enthusiasm 
she started in one night to will herself to be harmonious and self- 
controlled all the next day. 

To her utter astonishment after a tolerantly successful morning 
she broke down entirely in the afternoon and commenced to cry. 

Utterly disgusted, she telephoned the failure of her effort. 

"But is it a failure?" I asked. "Didn't you go through the morn- 
ing better than the day before?" 

"Yes, I did," she responded reluctantly. 

"I can tell from your voice you haven't a headache tonight and 
this is the first time after an outburst that you have not suffered from 
one, is it not?" 

"Why, yes, it is," she admitted in a surprised tone. 

"Well, then, you have met with a degree of success. Now go 
out to some amusing movie — mind no melodrama. Then go home. 
Analyze the day. Fill your mind with Harmony and when you will 
for tomorrow, do it calmly and without any feeling of tenseness and 
I will help you by holding the same thought." 

The next evening a very triumphant little somebody fairly crow- 
ed over the telephone — "I won out today and he was worse than 
ever. He just tore things up." 

"Keep up the work more faithfully than ever," I advised, "and 
report in a week." 

Promptly in a week's time a surprised young woman walked into 
my office and said, "What do you think, my Boss has reformed. The 
other day he saw me studying my lesson and writing out my analy- 



t. 



102 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

sis from yesterday and he asked me what it was and what it all 
meant. Of course it was the noon hour and my own time, but as 
he asked, I thought I would tell him. So I explained I was trying 
to improve myself and that I had finally conquered my headaches." 

"Then somehow he asked me a question quickly about what I 
was doing all this for, and before I thought I blurted out, 'Your 
temper-' 

"I thought he would explode for a minute. His face grew pur- 
ple. Then he saw that I did not mean to be impertinent and he sat 
right down and asked me all about it in the nicest way and now he 
is trying too. I write out affirmations for him and he uses them." 

The most interesting part of this story to me is that "the Boss" 
kept up the good work, used his really remarkable will to conquer his 
weakness of venting his ill-temper and impatience on all whom he 
met, and as a consequence cured himself of a nervous indigestion that 
had troubled him for years. 

In connection with this subject of the Right Thought Habit, it 
is almost impossible to lay sufficient emphasis on the tremendous 
benefit the method of right thinking will be to everyone who will 
expend upon it the required amount of time and energy. 

It is not easy work, nor is it always easy to keep at it, for human 
nature is frail and always there will be interposed the something that 
looks like a good reason for not making any special effort that time. 

Yet in reality nothing in the whole life of man is so vitally im- 
portant. 

Indeed, writers and thinkers as well as philosophers of all ages 
have united in agreeing that the greatest hero of all is the man who 
has so conquered himself that he can think exactly as he pleases. 

The matter of employing the Will with Thought is another im- 
portant consideration neglected by most students who therefore con- 
tent themselves with feebly desiring or wishing that something might 
happen. Now if anything by any chance should come as a result of 
such a thought it would be just as luke-warm and unsatisfactory as 
the wish itself. 

An excellent comparison of what may be done to increase the effect 
of even so simple an act as ringing the door-bell, is given by Leland 
who, after telling what this habit of willing to think had done for 
him, suggests that if each person would, in sending out a thought, give 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT IO3 

this extra impulse, the results would be so striking that never again 
would a feeble attempt be made. 

He used the homely illustration of the man attempting to ring an 
old-fashioned door bell so as to produce the most sound, and for that 
reason pulling the handle back as far as it would go. Then he adds 
dryly, "But if he would, in letting go, simply give the handle a tap 
with the forefinger, it would actually redouble the noise." 

And he compares this process to the deliberate yet keen action of 
the mind, before falling to sleep in willing that the next day shall be 
harmonious, or that some business problem may be solved, or some 
method of conduct decided upon. 

For, as he sagely concludes, this process of willing the mind to 
work during sleep is just exactly what the best business men in the 
country, the wisest lawyers in the world, the greatest students and the 
best psychologists have ever practiced. Whenever a question seemed 
difficult of solution or where discussion merely made it more involved, 
they buried in their minds, refused to mention it, excepting to say 
they would sleep on it, and the next day the solution had usually been 
reached. Thus they were unconsciously following a principle. 

This process he strongly urges us to follow consciously, explaining 
that our action in determining to will the mind to accomplish and the 
thoughts to obey is exactly on a parallel with the rap on the door- 
bell that redoubled the sound, for in each case when properly done, it 
will bring a quicker and better result than by any other method. 

The simplicity certainly recommends it, and experiments have 
proved its efficacy, so there remains nothing more for the earnest 
student than to carefully follow this advise until a degree of pro- 
ficiency has been attained. 

The use of the will in making a memory is another important thing 
that many people overlook, for the average person with an unde- 
veloped memory insists on discouraging it by constantly declaring: "I 
have such a poor memory, you know," or "I'd give anything if I could 
remember, but I just can't; there is no use in trying." 

Indeed, many of them are like the little girl who defined her mem- 
ory as "the thing I forget with." 

In reality any one who can remember to go home to meals, and to 
go down to the office for work, and collect his salary, has the rudi- 
ments of memory. To develop it merely requires time and attention. 



104 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Begin with something very easy to retain — a nursery jingle, a pro- 
verb or a text. Read it carefully with sufficient attention. Then 
close the book and endeavor to repeat it. Keep on until you can 
repeat it. Then write it out, and as you write it out, will to remem- 
ber it. 

The next day before you attempt to memorize any thing else go 
back and repeat the verse or sentence. If you have forgotten any of 
it, repeat your work as before, again willing yourself to remember it. 

If you have remembered it, add another, and go through the same 
process. Always review your work from the beginning each day, and 
always add to your collection. Never be ashamed to make your work 
easy at first, and always remember that this method is infallibly suc- 
cessful. 

After a few weeks of work you will find that you will be able to 
practice verbal memorizing — that, by having the text repeated to you, 
you will be able to repeat and remember it — and in from ten to twelve 
months you will be able to repeat whole lectures or sermons, or at 
least the pith of them. 

Age does not debar one from starting this work; for one of the 
best memories known is owned by a man of 78 who did not commence 
to memorize until he was past seventy. 

So we must remember that the formula for a good memory is a 
mixture of will and perseverance. 

When difficult names or definitions or tabulations are to be mem- 
orized, it is often well to study them attentively ; write them out care- 
fully; study from the written list and then write them from memory, 
willing as you write, to remember them. As a consequence of this 
practice the mention of one name will often cause the entire tabulation 
to flash before the mind. 

As a great aid in this process of committing to memory it should 
be remembered that it is always difficult to use the mind to advantage 
after a heavy meal or in a poorly ventilated room. 

If studying is to be done at night and the dinner has been unusu- 
ally plentiful, it will be well to wait for at least two hours before be- 
ginning the memory exercises, if possible taking a brisk walk of a few 
blocks in the meantime. 

In addition to the walk, it is always advisable to fill the room with 
fresh air, and from time to time to walk to the window, throw the 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 105 

shoulders back and drink in through the nostrils copious drafts of air, 
feeling as you do so that you are taking in Nature's tonic in the shape 
of Oxygen. 

In one class I remember five students who made themselves and all 
their associates miserable by constantly complaining: "I just can't 
remember those hard names." 

"But you can remember them," I explained. 

"How?" one of them wailed. 

"By treating your memory kindly, first of all," I explained. "Here 
for weeks you have been abusing it. Now stop and say to it, 'I am 
going to pay some special attention to you from now on, and I know 
you will do what I ask of you/ " 

"At night, eat a light meal, have a good laugh if you can, then get 
away by yourself, analyze the day without a critical thought toward 
anyone, but just looking in your own heart to see what your mistakes 
have been, then fill your heart with courage, your lungs with Oxygen, 
and your mind with Harmony." 

"Next sit down with your dictionary and your books. Resolutely 
find the meaning and pronunciation of every word yourself. Write 
it out from the book, then from memory, and then will yourself to 
remember. Keep this up until your lesson is finished. Before you go 
to sleep that night will yourself to say your lessons well, and to go 
through your day's work better than ever before. No matter what 
comes up the next day, make up your mind to take an interest in it, and 
in less than a week you will see a marvelous change." 

Each girl promised me to try and agreed to report by letter in two 
weeks. 

As a consequence I received five enthusiastic letters, each one say- 
ing before the first week had passed the difficulties had flown and 
study had become indeed a pleasure. 

Willing to remember is not alone effective when used as described, 
but after some proficiency has been attained it may be used any time 
during the day, for any subject or errand or number, by saying de- 
cisively: "I will to remember this number, or name, or errand, at a 
certain time." 

Thus getting up in the morning, writing letters, and even paying 
bills, will occur to the person promptly as suggested. 

Even past events on which the method of willing has not been tried 



106 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

may be recalled by saying, "Just a moment, please," to your questioner, 
and then saying quietly but firmly to yourself, "I will to remember that 
name or event." 

An easier, more practical or more easily tested method has never 
been devised. Given sufficient time, earnestness and attention, it is 
the one infallible process by which anybody's memory may be trained 
at any time. 

RESUME. 

"For knowledge is to wisdom what his realm 
Is to a monarch, — that o'er which he rules; 
And he who hath the Will can ever win 
Such empire to himself. Will can do all." 

To use the will for the purpose of thinking constructively, as, for 
instance, to be calm, well poised, observant, happy, free from pain or 
worry or anxiety, pleasant to all, and able to handle any situation that 
may arise in the following day, the following exercises are necessary. 

First, analyze the day dispassionately, without regret or recrimi- 
nation; recognize your own errors (for no one can hurt you unless you 
allow it), and plan calmly what you think should be done the next 
day to improve yourself and your attitude toward others. 

Then affirm courage and harmony, and when you feel that every 
part of your brain is filled with harmony, say slowly, firmly and with 
faith in the ultimate outcome : "I will that tomorrow I shall be able 
to meet any emergency with fortitude and ability to turn all to good," 
or use any other phrase that seems apropos, until you go to sleep. 

Should the first attempt not meet with complete success, do not lose 
heart but continue your efforts until you see an improvement, and then 
keep at this same work more faithfully than ever until finally, as your 
ability and power increase, you may will yourself to do whatever you 
desire. 

To fix anything in the memory, it is best to wait until after the 
process of digestion has been finished, then, after analyzing the day, 
filling the heart with courage and the mind with harmony, will that 
certain words or phrases or lessons shall be remembered. Sometimes 
it is necessary to begin with the simplest words and easiest jingles, re- 
peating the next day and adding more, and so going on until a degree 
of success has been met. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 107 

Ordinarily, though, anyone who has had the desire to read through 
these pages will have progressed beyond that stage, and hence it will 
only be necessary to read the words, write them out, then write them 
again from memory, and then will to remember them. 

Deep breathing and working in a well aired room are also necessary 
to the best work. 

By this process, used not only at night before sleeping but during 
the day, for names, numbers, errands or other items, the will may be 
trained to bring these matters before one at the necessary time just as 
the alarm clock sounds its signal in the morning. 

This practice should never be omitted for a single day if the right 
progress is to be made. After proficiency is attained, it may be used 
at any time anywhere. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THINKING FOR ABUNDANCE. 

"Do you wish to become rich? You may become so if you desire 
it in no half-way but thoroughly. Do you wish to master any 
accomplishment of science? Give yourself to it thoroughly 
and it lies beneath your feet. The world is given as a prize 
to the man who is in earnest." — Robertson. 

"There are three kinds of people in this world, the wills, the 
wonts and the cants. The first accomplish everything, the 
second oppose everything and the third fail in everything. You 
alone are responsible for the class in which you are placed." — 
Anon. 

"Hoarding always brings loss in one way or the other. Using — 
wisely using brings an ever increasing gain." — Trine. 

As the great majority of people desire to obtain success through 
the possession of money, or by a better earning capacity, or a larger 
business, no better example can be given than by showing the steps 
that must be taken before attaining this desire. 

At the same time it must be impressed upon everyone that it is pos- 
itively necessary to have a large vision and a generous spirit. Many 
succeed in demonstrating money and even riches but forgetting that 
the principle they have proved may be used again and again, they 
spend so much time in worrying over increased living expenses, that 
they often become poorer than they were before they commenced 
working for bigger things. 

To understand this condition, let us first of all consider money — 
what it is — and what it does. 

Money is but a medium of exchange, useful only when in circula- 
tion, useless unless it is put to work. Beginners sometimes find it 
necessary to concentrate on a certain sum of money, and do demon- 
strate it, but have to continue working on increasingly larger sums 
until they have courage to work for something bigger and better, and 
then they say, "We desire riches." In the meantime, if they would 
acquire greater power, they must let their money go with just as great 
willingness as they watched it come, feeling that in its work it is taking 
comfort and help to many others who also need and desire it. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT IOO, 

Riches then will be the next step, but riches are always relative in 
value according to the vision of the one who is working for them. For 
instance, what may be riches to the poor man, may be poverty to the 
rich man, and but a small sum to the multi-millionaire. Hence to 
desire riches is in a way an acknowledgment of limited thought vision, 
though, as mentioned before, some students prefer to work in that 
way. Riches attained, they wake up to find that still they can not 
obtain all they want, and so they go on to the next and highest step 
in their work for this special purpose and they desire abundance. 

Abundance is enough for all needs and a surplus. It makes no dif- 
ference how small that surplus, if for one day one has obtained all that 
he or she truly desired and there remains a surplus, abundance has 
been demonstrated, and the student has proved relationship with unlim- 
ited supply, a relationship that may be continued just so long as the 
student continues to work in the right thought currents, faith en- 
dures, and recognition continues. 

The steps to the demonstration of abundance are as follows, and 
should be carefully noted, for every failure may be traced back to a 
neglect of one or more of these principles. 

FIRST — Recognition of the Oneness of Unlimited Supply now 
and here, no matter what the present condition may be. 

SECOND— Desire to obtain. 

THIRD — (Belief that this desire will be granted. 

FOURTH — Will to overcome all obstacles. 

FIFTH — Ability to think constructively at all times and under 
all conditions. 

SIXTH — Application of these principles to everything in daily life. 

SEVENTH — Demonstration by realization of the desire. 

Anybody anywhere may apply these principles and may reap the 
reward of their endeavors, the length of time needed depending en- 
tirely upon their own development and the strength of their ability to 
believe, desire and obtain. 

In every community one finds many who have unconsciously lived 
up to these ideas all their lives, and others who deny any possibility 
of accomplishment under such conditions. 



IIO SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

In every class there will be a number who respond to the ideas and 
profit, others who deny and refuse to be convinced. In any case no 
one should be persuaded to believe, for if the thought is sufficiently 
constructive he will "be still and know." 

As an illustration of the difference in pupils, let me give an ex- 
perience that illustrates very clearly the reason why so many people 
fail to succeed. 

In one class there were twenty pupils, ten of whom had progressed 
to an encouraging degree. 

After a talk on 'Abundance' one day, one of the young women, 
whom we shall call Miss C, said, half sneeringly, "Here I am with 
only a dollar in my pocket for the rest of the week, yet I have been 
studying this stuff for ten days. I would say my work was a com- 
plete failure and I don't believe I will ever succeed." 

I said: "My dear Miss C, your own expressions show why you 
do not demonstrate more prosperity, for you have just told us that 
you have not recognized your oneness with the Universal Supply, and 
you say now you don't believe. Demonstration is only possible to 
those who have faith. It must come from within, and is nothing I 
can give you." 

She shrugged her shoulders in a superior sort of way, entirely 
unconvinced, when next to her Miss H. said, "I have only been 
working for ten days too, and I have just ten cents in my pocket, for 
car- fare and lunch money, but I know that I shall obtain what I de- 
sire even though I go hungry while I wait. Last night with only 
bread and water for my supper I took the rest of the money for 
stamps and wrote letters asking several people who owed me money 
to please send me a little today, and I asked one of the women to 
come to this lecture too. Now I may not hear from any of those 
people today but I shall keep on until I do succeed, and if any one 
offered me $100.00 in place of what you have told us today I would 
not take it, for I know you have helped me learn truth that will earn 
for me more than $I,ooo.oo. ,, 

A third woman, not so young but well dressed, then said, "May 
be my own experience may help the class for from a time when I was 
reduced to one meal a day I have demonstrated Abundance by fol- 
lowing just these steps and the day I commenced to study I had 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT III 

but twenty-five cents in my pocket and was hesitating between the 
lake and going back to the room where I owed for two weeks rent. 

"As I looked at the lake and thought, 'there at least is rest/ my 
thoughts recurred to the verse I heard at my mother's knee: 'The 
Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want/ and I remembered that 
I had forgotten to rely on the Lord and that instead of Faith I had 
filled my heart with doubt and grief and fear, and right there on the 
lake front, regardless of those who saw me, I got down on my knees, 
and said, 'Oh Lord, I do believe you will care for me. I thank You 
for Your guiding hand that has today brought me back into the path 
from which I have strayed for so many years/ 

"I rose from my knees and with a feeling of exaltation impossible 
to describe I started for my room. Looking neither to left nor right 
I walked on and directly in front of a huge touring car. When I 
reached my senses I found myself in a luxuriously furnished room 
with a kindly face leaning over me and asking anxiously if I felt any 
pain. 

"I shook my head, closed my eyes and went to sleep. Later, after 
being given some refreshments, I told my story, and as a result I 
obtained a position paying me $12.00 a week. From this I progressed 
until now I have charge of the office in which I started and may 
say I use my experiences nearly every day for the benefit of others I 
meet who are struggling with the same problems that nearly cost me 
my life. 5 ' 

The lesson was finished, and, as we all walked toward the door, 
it was opened hurriedly by a woman who rushed up to Miss H., 
kissed her and with tears in her eyes exclaimed, "You brave little 
thing, your letter was a blessing for we had lost your address. Here 
is your money and twenty-five dollars more. Call on me for any 
thing that you need at any time." 

Naturally the class was stimulated as well as elated at the suc- 
cess so clearly demonstrated — all but Miss C. She continued to shrug 
her shoulders and walk away, for as she had stated before she just 
knew she couldn't accomplish things and she didn't. 

I give these examples for the purpose of showing that the demon- 
stration of money, riches or abundance does not necessarily follow 
at once, or indeed, even a short time after commencing a new method 
of thinking. 



112 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

The old, destructive thought-habits have produced the effects seen 
today, and often it takes not only days but weeks and months and 
sometimes years to get into the right current and manifest abund- 
ance. 

Often too, it would seem that the very attempt to get out of the old 
way of thinking and into the new brings upon the head of the one who 
is attempting it, so much ridicule and objection, that a lot of energy 
becomes wasted in explaining and defending the principles under 
which the student is working. 

A word of caution may not be amiss here. 

Every one who is freed from the bondage of the old ideas is 
naturally so much elated that he desires to give to others the same 
happiness, only to find his efforts received with a lack of enthusiasm 
that is too often extremely depressing, in fact, so much so that they 
often lose in one or two conversations of this kind much of the faith 
they have been acquiring in weeks of work. 

It is therefore wise to bear in mind that efforts of this kind should 
never be made excepting for those who are eager to be helped. 

To force your ideas on others, or insist in arguing with those of 
contrary views, does nothing for them and often retards your own 
progress, hence it is wiser to let your life demonstrate the progress 
you are making than to resort to your words as a method of persuad- 
ing others to partake of your belief. 

If you are really sincere and are truly working as you should, 
although you may not know it, scores of others are observing you 
and will be only too glad to work with you for the same kind of 
results. 

Occasionally too, your words will seem to fail to produce any 
effect on those who have expressed their anxiety to learn. Try as you 
will, and try as they will, only a certain degree of progress will be 
made. For a time the matter may puzzle you, but go back to your 
first principles and you will see that one of the seven has not been 
practiced. 

A very good example of this kind of progress came under my ob- 
servation a short time ago. 

The young woman had evolved from a shrinking, diffident, self- 
depreciating sort of a person into one with a degree of self-confidence 
and a very good presence, but still she did not seem to manifest any 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT I HABIT II3 

great degree of progress and although she kept holding the thought 
of getting ahead she always felt that her advancement was really 
in the hands of some one else and that sooner or later she would be 
recognized. Now she persisted in that feeling although at that very 
time she was at the head of a department, and was allowed unlimited 
liberty in planning for future gain. 

She had attended lectures, read, studied, and to a limited extent 
demonstrated the truth of her belief, but always way back in her 
mind lurked that feeling that she had done all she could and that now 
it was some one else's work to crown her efforts with the abundance 
she desired. 

In her department the sales were always small, although she was 
in one of our largest cities and had patrons who spent hundreds else- 
where. Finally she realized that her own ideas were small, that she 
had been practicing petty economies and thus was attracting just that 
class of people. 

She commenced on herself, stopped talking or thinking or living 
economy and her sales increased accordingly. 

Then one day she heard a lecture. During his talk it seemed as 
though the lecturer looked straight at this young woman and point- 
ed at her as he cried emphatically, "No matter what you want or 
where you want to be, it's up to YOU to accomplish. Remember 
it's up to YOU." 

And, right then and there that young woman woke up and found 
what had been the matter with her, although she thought that 
she had been studying and working in the right direction for seven 
years before this time. 

The seed that had been scattered in this case was not lost. It 
was merely a case of sowing it on ground that was not sufficiently 
fertile to allow it to grow quickly. 

Seven years seems like a long time, but at any rate it was seven 
years of progress and development, although it was slow and some 
times just a trifle discouraging. 

Others with a more developed consciousness might have accom- 
plished the same development in seven weeks or seven months, but 
this young woman was obliged to develop her consciousness as she 
went along and keep repeating her belief in the "Oneness of Uni- 
versal Supply." 



114 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

So with each one of us, we never know how long it may take the 
seed we sow to take root and shoot up where we can see results ; but 
we may know that no seed is ever lost. It just waits until the ground 
has been made fertile. 

And when we see the many seeming exceptions to the law if we 
will always go back to the steps we need to follow we will invariably 
find that some where, some how along that line some thing had been 
omitted or slighted or not given all the attention it needed. 

The Law never fails. It remains for us to live up to the require- 
ments, no matter how steep the path may seem or how many obstacles 
confront us, if we believe and perserve we shall just so surely attain. 

The same faith that enables the pilot to guide the vessels safely 
amid the sharpest rocks and worst shoals through the blackest nights 
will do as much for us in our journey through life, if we will but 
recognize its power. 

RESUME. 

The abundance of supply has never been denied by the Universal 
Spirit, but on the contrary, everywhere is the evidence of more 
than man needs. 

The Universal Spirit is the God of Abundance saying to all "Knock 
and it shall be opened, Ask, and it shall be given to you." 

Man has made limitation to his own progress and from this vision 
has created a God of Limitations, allowing him to progress so far 
and no farther. 

Until man can realize his absolute oneness with the Universal 
Substance, just so long will his demonstration of abundance be lim- 
ited, not by condition but by his own development. 

The steps to the demonstration of Abundance are as follows: 

First — The Recognition of the Oneness of Unlimited Supply now 
and here, no matter what the present outlook may be. 

Second — Desire to obtain. 

Third — Belief that desire will be granted. 

Fourth — Will to overcome all obstacles. 

Fifth — Ability to think constructively at all times and under all 
conditions. 

Sixth — Application of these principles to everything in daily life. 

Seventh — Demonstration by a realization of the desire. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SUCCESS. 

"I am Success, though hungry, cold, ill-clad, 
I wander for awhile, I smile and say, 
It is but for a time, I shall be glad, 
Tomorrow, for good fortune comes my way, 
God is my father, he has wealth untold, 
His wealth is mine, health, happiness and gold." 

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

A combination of the conditions most desirable to the individual 
is usually the most satisfactory definition of success to one who is 
working for certain results. 

In general, however, success has been well defined by F. W. Sears 
who describes it as the condition in which "one does that which one 
desires to do when one desires to do it and for as long a time as one 
pleases/' 

Naturally for the writer success means something very different 
than it would for the business man or for the artist or for the farmer 
or for the manufacturer. Yet the same general law underlies every 
form of success and it is within the power of every living being to 
demonstrate right here and now, that by a recognition of his own 
ability he can day by day improve his condition and advance toward 
the desired goal. 

The time that it requires depends entirely upon the faith of the in- 
dividual as united with enthusiasm and persistent application of the 
principles involved. 

And, here is where the stumbling block occurs for many. The 
principle is so very simple, that they refuse to recognize it and insist 
on looking for something more difficult, something that may be pur- 
chased, or obtained as a gift, or received as advice. 

The truth that makes for Success consists simply and solely in 
knowing that there is but one Universal Spirit in the universe, and 
that everything, both animate and inanimate, contains that spirit, and 
that human beings progress and evolve in direct proportion to their 
recogition of the Spirit within themselves. 

Thus when one asserts the I, it does not mean the individual, but 
the spirit within the I, and the statement "I can" or "I will" merely 



Il6 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

means that the individual recognizes and believes in the power of 
the Spirit within to accomplish. 

The moment that fear or lack or confidence or worry as to the 
outcome of a venture is admitted, just that moment the Universal 
Supply is either shut off entirely or made insufficient, and this depriva- 
tion comes from an act on the part of the individual not from the 
Universal Spirit. 

To use a homely and well worn illustration, just as the seed 
planted in the ground needs a fertile soil, and plenty of water and 
sunshine, so the Spirit within each individual needs the soil of faith, 
and the water and sunshine of enthusiasm and persistent effort. 

Thus we may obtain anything we want providing we pay the price 
for it. In Universal Law, nothing is either bad nor good, its effect 
being determined entirely by the use to which it is put. 

The great thing of course is to know what we want. 

In every fairy tale there is a wishing ring or an Aladdin's lamp 
that brings to the person everything desired, and always those who 
made selfish wishes failed to prosper while the generous were re- 
warded. 

Those who desire wealth alone should remember King Midas and 
his plight, for when he was given permission to be granted one wish, 
and he desired that everything he touched would turn to gold, he little 
imagined that this magic touch would affect his food and his drink, 
and when the bread hardened in his hand and the liquid turned to 
molten gold, there he was surrounded by gold and starving. Even 
when told to expiate his fault by bathing in a certain river, his very 
body turned the sands to gold, and so when his wish was taken from 
him he longed but for one thing, life in the country, where gold was 
not a necessity and simple pleasures sufficed. 

The story of this King is but an illustration of the way in which 
some people choose to prove the working out of this Law. They 
may obtain that which they work for, but it brings them no pleasure 
for there was a selfish element connected with it. 

Therefore, when one desires to achieve success it is always well 
to remember that under the Universal Law it is as easy to work for 
several things as for one, and hence in general it will be found that 
the chief constituents of real Success will be found in obtaining 
Health, because to be happy without health is difficult, Harmony, be- 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT II^ 

cause when one is harmonious all is well in the world, and Abundance, 
because then one has enough for everything necessary and a sur- 
plus. 

In order to obtain these results the application of the Universal 
Law is necessary in the constant affirmations not only once, but many 
times a day, always before retiring as well as the first thing on rising, 
of "I am Health," "I am Harmony," "I am Abundance," and "I am 
Success." 

Now these affirmations are not to be smiled at, even though they 
may be made by a bed-ridden invalid, a pauper, or the inmate of 
a jail, for if the desire is there and the belief in the Universal Law 
of the presence of Universal Spirit in every one and everything, each 
person can and will improve according to the persistence with which 
he makes these affirmations and carries out in conversation and actions 
his belief in really securing his desires. 

By living in this consciousness of our oneness with whatever we 
desire, we so breathe, think, feel and radiate this belief that every 
atom in our physical body is impregnated with the strength of our 
desires and we attract to ourselves from formless energy other atoms 
necessary for our success. 

We forget what some one else might do or think or advise. We 
lose sight of what others in business are saying or doing. We are 
only concerned with our own growth and belief and faith and we 
never falter in our efforts, for we realize that every day of this con- 
structive thinking is building within us constructive habits that must 
result for good. 

Soon we see the external world immediately about us shaping it- 
self in accordance with our thought power so that our desires come 
to us through natural channels, not through some special individual 
whom we have tried to influence, or through the use of our minds 
over those of others. 

Our work has been to create within ourselves a magnet powerful 
enough to attract what we need just as the ordinary magnet attracts 
bits of steel filings. The same Universal Law rules our minds and 
the ordinary magnet. 

To attract is not difficult for those who work under the law of 
Harmony, for thus they only attract what is really theirs. To re- 
tain what one has attracted for as long as one desires, merely means 



Il8 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

that the recognition of the one life with all life must never for one 
moment be forgotten and that the Constructive Habit must ever be 
foremost in one's thoughts. 

True, many large fortunes and apparent successes are secured 
through entirely different means by those who are using the law of 
force, as well as those who work under the law of competition. 
Sometimes these fortunes are kept from one generation to another, 
at other times they are swept away. But in any event, those who 
accumulate by following the law of force will inevitably pay the 
penalty in some way or other, hence, those who are really sincere will 
work under the law of Harmonious attraction, knowing that from 
such efforts there can come no aftermath of sorrow or repentance. 

Success is not determined by hard, unremitting, soul-trying, body- 
racking work, but by effort wisely planned, harmoniously performed 
and quietly accomplished. 

Many people work hard but they exert so much force and work 
so unwillingly that everything they attempt turns to failure. They 
are always complaining and experience bad luck, but their bad luck 
comes from the worry centers within, not from without. 

The human being who has so little brain power as to plan no time 
for reading, no time for recreation, no time for anything but work 
in one direction, soon, degenerates into a machine, not because neces- 
sity compels this degeneration but because the desire and thought 
habits have not been sufficiently well formed to make conditions dif- 
ferent. 

Merciful and charitable impulses often persuade us to stoop down 
and endeavor to lift others up to some sphere of usefulness. Not 
until time after time of failure do we see that in putting our hands 
on another's life, we do not help the individual while we often harm 
ourselves in the endeavor to make them see the light. 

To associate with those who persist in living in the failure atmos- 
phere, dealing always with negatives, thinking nothing but destruc- 
tive thoughts, blaming every one and everything for the condition 
in which they have been found, helps no one. 

If, however, these same failures express a desire to improve, 
realize that the fault is from within and not from without, and are 
willing to work for results, effort is, indeed well expended. 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT II9 

Thus when one is advised to associate himself with successful 
people and to surround himself with positive rather than negative 
influences, the advise is based on scientific principles and is not 
founded on heartless reasoning. The "I am" and "I can" partners 
are the ones necessary in every successful business enterprise, other- 
wise, energy will need to be expended in persuading negative charac- 
ters of what may be accomplished, instead of going right to work and 
accomplishing. 

The individual who knows he can succeed, who recognizes the one 
Universal Spirit and his oneness with it, and who pushes on no mat- 
ter how difficult the way may seem, can never know failure for he has 
formed the habit of success. 

Within every life there is a vital power which transcends all nega- 
tive condition and lack. This power we develop by our habit of 
thought and demonstrate by our actions. 

Success we must, therefore, understand is always a matter of 
individual choice and development rather than a term that may be 
used generally to describe the attainments of our acquaintances or 
friends. 

Oftentime, the manifestations presented by others may not seem 
to the casual observer as anything remarkable, because he is unable 
to realize that the development of consciousness in these particular 
lives has been much slower than in his own case. Yet, in reality, 
the growth may have been quite out of the ordinary. 

Many people who are on the road to Success fail to realize it be- 
cause they cannot understand why the process should take them so 
long while others seem to have acquired all that they have desired in 
a comparatively short time. 

For this reason, it may be well to consider the various phases of 
development as they may be manifested. 

First of all, of course, we must have the desire to succeed. Then 
the belief that we can win success. Next, must come the realization 
that we must pay for everything we obtain, that nothing comes to us, 
by accident but always as a result of our own effort rightly expended.. 
Obstacles, disappointments, discouragements or in short all things, 
that seems to go wrong will lose their power to disturb us in our next 
step because we shall see in them nothing but problems for us to 
solve, an exercise for our mental muscles. 



120 SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 

Finally, we arrive at the point where we can find each day's work 
something we may look forward to with pleasure instead of the feel- 
ing that it is drudgery. We seek and find a lesson in everything. 
We do our work easily without tension or the feeling of being driven. 
We know that to develop ourselves still more, we must use our best 
efforts constantly instead of slighting the smaller details. 

It is at this point we are most apt to become a little discouraged, 
for often although we have taken each step as described, we see no 
material proof in the way of a greater earning capacity, better hours, 
or a more agreeable environment. If, however, we know we are 
growing mentally, this is the time to put forth more effort than ever, 
knowing that the reward must come, if from nothing more than 
our own ability to show greater efficiency than ever before. Here 
we must remember that just as the caterpillar has to remain in the 
cocoon until it is ready to burst forth a radiant and beautiful butter- 
fly, so sometimes our work in building thought-habits is done in 
such a manner that not until everything is in readiness shall we emerge 
into bigger, better things. The time consumed in this process may be 
days, weeks, months or years, depending solely on our own develop- 
ment and enthusiastic effort. One person may accomplish in one 
week what took years for another. 

At last it dawns on us, that notwithstanding our faithful following 
of directions we have failed in realizing constantly the truth of our 
Oneness with the Universal Supply. The moment we can make the 
assertion with full belief and the absolute absence of any trace of 
doubt, just that instant every bond that has deterred our progress 
will be loosened and shall emerge as glorious examples of the best 
and most lasting as well as most satisfactory form of Success, and 
from that moment we have but to determine in which phase of life 
we shall find the truest development for we have mastered the truth 
and demonstrated that there is an Abundance for all who desire, be- 
lieve and work. 

RESUME. 
"If you want to succeed in the world you must make your own 
opportunities as you go on. The man who waits for some 
seventh wave to toss him on dry land will find that wave a long 
time coming. You can commit no greater folly than to wait 
for some one else to ask you to ride with him to wealth and 
affluence." 
Success means something different to each individual, but in its 
truest sense should mean to all the possession of Health, Harmony 



SUCCESS THROUGH THOUGHT: HABIT 121 

and Abundance, the manifestation of each being varied to suit the 
varied requirements. 

Fear, Lack of Confidence, Worry, Selfishness, Anger and Tense- 
ness shut off the supply of power from the Universal Spirit. Faith, 
Love, Will, Effort and Constant Recognition are needed for its mani- 
festation. 

Hard, soul-trying, body-racking work, united with careful econ- 
omy never spells success but usually means failure. 

Development may be greatly aided by the habit of reading, study 
and meditation each day and the allowance of a certain amount of 
time for recreation. 

Constant effort is necessary if one is to keep in the right thought- 
currents. 

To associate with those who persist in living in the failure cur- 
rent, affirming lack, and insisting on their inability to accomplish, 
and attempting to discourage us at the same time, is to get out of the 
best thought currents and into destructive ones. 

To be able to work with enjoyment, allowing nothing to disturb 
one's Harmony and seeing in disagreeable occurrences only problems 
to be solved and in disagreeable people only those of an undeveloped 
consciousness shows that we are progressing. 

Oftentimes, work must be continued for a long period of time 
before there is a material manifestation of growth, but the ability to 
accomplish shows that this growth is actually occuring. 

Within every life there is a vital spark. The moment that the 
life recognizes its Oneness with Universal Supply and that no one 
but the individual can or will shut off that supply the truth has been 
learned and the manifestation of Success is assured in just the degree 
that the individual is capable of demonstrating it. 

Steps In Attaining Success. 
First — Clear-cut picture of what we desire. 
Second — Realization that we must pay for what we obtain. 
Third — Faith in our oneness with Universal Supply. 
Fourth — Will to overcome all obstacles. 

Fifth — Unvarying enthusiasm in regard to our undertaking. 
Sixth — Recognition of truth that right effort brings reward, re- 
gardless of time consumed. 
Seventh — Demonstration. 



FINIS. 

Those of you who have read carefully and thought deeply, will, 
I am sure, be convinced of the great improvement possible to all who 
will look within, and from within, commence to build Thought- 
Habits Constructively. 

And in this connection let me urge each reader to Will, rather 
than Wish and to act promptly on every good resolution, keeping at 
the same time in the current of Harmony not only for the comfort 
it bestows, but also because of the Mental, Physical, Material and 
Spiritual benefit that is sure to result. 

By resolutely Willing to Do, every limitation in your path is cer- 
tain to vanish whether you now see the way clear or not. There- 
fore Will your desire to be right and to be used in the right direction 
and it will manifest itself in the right way. 



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